Roots
by rosebud896
Summary: Rose Potter, the twin of Harry, has always had a strong bond with her brother. However, this is challenged by her stance as a Slytherin and by her friendship with Draco Malfoy. OC/Draco, takes place during Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. There will be later sequels.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know that I have a few other stories in the works right now, but I just got into such a Harry Potter frenzie lately that I had to write this out. If any of you actually read it, I am a little stuck on Firelily and may need a little time to rethink the chapter I am working on; I've rewritten it at least a dozen times so far.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series.

Chapter 1

 _An elderly man stared outside his dark window at the dimly lit room he was taking care of next door to his own quaint home. He lit the fire for his late night cup of tea trying to remember if for some reason he had left the light on. He jumped into action when he realized that he had not in fact left the light on and jumped to the wall where he kept his set of keys deciding that an intruder was in the building and needed to be removed._

 _He wobbled quickly through the hilly space between his house and the property he cared for until he could quietly unlock the unfortunately squeaky door. He tiptoed through the house up the stairs where he could hear voices speaking in hushed yet stern tones._

 _"No my lord, I only meant, perhaps if we were to do it without the twins," a man resembling Peter Petigrew suggested._

 _"No!" A voice from the chair in the room that the caretaker was looking at snapped angrily at Petigrew, "The twins are everything!" Another man skinny and slightly unkempt ran next to the chair. "It cannot be done with them, and it will be done exactly as I say!"_

 _"I will not disappoint you my lord," the man next to him promised._

 _"Good."_

 _A large python slithered up the stairs and through the caretaker's feet who jumped back and bit his finger to keep from letting out a shriek of surprise._

 _"First, gather our old comrades, send them another sign."_

 _The snake slithered into the room where the men were talking and began to slither out the familiar language of parcel tongue to the men. The snake traveled up the side of the chair to look into the eyes of the man next to it then back to the man sitting within the old chair. The caretaker looked in baffled at the men's loss of fear of the large predator._

 _"Nagini tells me, the old muggle caretaker is standing just outside the door," the man in the chair rasped. Petigrew came to the door and opened it farther._

 _"Step aside Wormtail, so that I can give our guest a proper greeting."_

 _Petigrew stepped to the side after leaving the caretaker with a mischievous smirk. The caretaker filled with a sense of sudden dred lifted his hands in defense, feeling as though something bad should occur._

 _"Avada kadavera!"_

A flash of green and a sudden jolt of pain shot through my spine. I gasped and arched my back to lift it from the scratchy cotton bedding I was sleeping on. I quickly fell onto the floor trying to relieve my back from the burning sensation. After a few heavy breaths I was able to calm my racing heart. I looked up to Ginny who was still sleeping in her flowery lilac bedspread. She had thankfully not awoken from my sudden outburst.

I shakily stood up and walked over to the mirror she had hanging in her room and lifted up my nightshirt to look at my back. The long twisting lines that followed along my spine like a tree were all enflamed. I touched one branch that curved up from the middle of my back to fall just below my shoulder blade and winced at the shot of pain that went through.

It was often assumed by the general public of wizards and witches, that I had not contracted a scar as my brother did because Voldermort had decided to kill my brother first and then myself, and therefore he had died before he had the chance to try to kill me, leaving me without a scar. That presumption was of course entirely a myth. Both my brother and I had been targeted by the attack that day and had been left with scars that we would bare our entire lives.

I opened up my trunk, which I kept at the foot of my bed that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had set up for me and dug through it until I found the salve I had kept inside a small drawstring bag. Snape, one of the few who knew of my scar, had crafted it for me one late night after I had been sent to Madam Pomfrey in my first year after a rather nasty attack. Luckily I hadn't felt much of any pain from my scar since my first year, but I would still carry it with me just in case.

After a few moments the pain resided from my back and I slid a white cami, large shear white button up shirt, and a pair of tight skinny jeans on since it was nearly time for the rest of the house to get up anyway. I quickly brushed my hair and pulled some pieces away from my face to pin in the back. I found a pair of white canvas shoes then ran down to the kitchen where I could already hear Mrs. Weasley bustling about.

"Good morning, what can I do for you," I greeted Mrs. Weasley and pulled one of the many lacy and overly decorated aprons from the peg on the wall to wrap around myself.

"Good morning my little morning flower," Mrs. Weasley perkily looked about until she found me to the left of her and patted my cheek with a motherly smile. "Would you like to start the bacon, it's on the left top shelf in the cold room." I nodded and retrieved it from what would be a pantry in a normal muggle kitchen but instead was given an enchantment to keep the room as a cold as a refrigerator.

I started to cook the mounds of bacon that should be able to feed a small platoon but instead could feed only a few Weasley boys. After the fourth batch of bacon the front door was forced open by luggage that could barely fit through it followed by an aggressive Hermione who was frustrated by the loads bags and trunks she had forced through the front door. Once she was able to finally get through the door herself she released the spell that kept the luggage afloat with a huff and blew a few strands of hair out of her face.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley," she sighed with half a smile, still recovering from the struggle.

"Hello dear." Mrs. Weasley wiped her eggy hands on her apron then scurried over to greet Hermione with a hearty hug. Hermione's eyes bugged at me from over Mrs. Weasleys shoulder. I smirked and placed another six pieces of bacon onto the griddle.

"Are the boys awake yet," she asked after Mrs. Weasley released her.

"At this hour? Of course not, the sun hasn't set yet," Mrs. Weasley joked. "Why don't you go and wake the house if you don't mind, breakfast is almost ready."

I had to make another three batches of bacon until Mrs. Weasley said that it was finally enough for the boys. By the time I had finished the bacon and had finished up the toast that Mrs. Weasley had started Hermione had all the boys sluggishly crawling down the stairs. Giny made her way down all on her own. I glanced at Harry and noticed a shiny spot on his forehead where his hair stuck. He was feeling some pain as well. I bit the inside of my cheek and pulled the last pieces of toast from the pan into the basket that Mrs. Weasley had them placed in.

"Ronald, get your head up off the plate," Mrs. Weasley scolded. He responded with a grumble. Hermione came from the upstairs bathroom with a book in her hand.

"Ronald, get your head up off the plate," she scolded and took her normal seat at the table.

"I swear! I can't even tell who is who anymore between the two of you," he grumbled into his plate before picking his head up. He went right back to leaning his head against his arm with his eyes nearly shut. "Why aren't Charlie, Bill, and Percy up, but we have to be?"

"Because they have all passed their O.W.L.S. and they passed the apparation test," Molly snapped at two very somber twins who were reminded everyday of their mothers disapproval of their poor exam grades.

Molly began to place the food out on the table; in the time it had taken me to just cook the bacon, she had prepared two quiches, homemade marmalade, scones, and warmed up an extra ham pie that she had cooked up the night before just in case Ron's appetite spiked again through the night. I picked up the turkey platter full of bacon and placed it right in front of where all four of the boys were sitting. They all immediately perked up to the smell of the meat in front of them.

"So that's the trick," Hermione laughed to herself.

"Good morning everyone!" Mr. Weasley waltzed into the kitchen holding his newspaper. He sat down and began to smear some marmalade onto a piece of toast. I poured him a cup of tea then moved down the line of the table.

While living at the Dursleys, I leave the cooking to both Harry and Aunt Petunia; I had proved a very unable muggle cook in my years at their house. Whenever Harry and I would spend time with the Weasleys I liked to help Molly out with the cooking as much as I could since she would teach me some very easy spells on how to cook with magic. I still was not nearly as good as she was.

We all ate our breakfast then waited for the boys to get changed and pack their bags for the day. I had already packed the night before; I planned and prepared for everything.

"Why don't you give me Harry and your lists for this year, just in case you're not back in time for the year to start, dear." Molly handed me a piece of parchment and a quill to write down the materials that we still needed for the year. I pulled out a few gold pieces I had left over from the previous year. I would restock on money every summer before heading to Hogwarts; I hadn't spent as much as I had thought though my third year.

I started to hear the thundering of the boys all running down the stairs, awake enough now to remember their excitement for the match we would soon be going to. I heard a sudden crash that made me jump, Mrs. Weasley simply carried about reading over the list I finished; she had grown accustomed to the noise and bustle. A few seconds later I could see Fred sliding down the stairs roughly and landing at the bottom of them with a solid thud.

"You're going to pay for that you blasted slug eater!"

"Here we go," I sighed.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. In case you were wondering, I decided to mix the movie and the books. I also decided to keep the fashion more modern since I am not entirely well versed in nineties fashion and am not a fan of it either. As always, criticism is more than welcome. It is how I learn to become a better author.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Portkeys are perhaps one of the most inconvenient ways to travel. Harry, had landed right on top of me as we landed, leaving me with the sensation of having the air knocked out of me. We only had to walk for a little before we reached the campgrounds.

Thousands of people from all over the world were dressed in green or red, supporting their preferred team for the win. I could hear several different languages at once, and the name Krum popping up in several different conversations. There were smells of people roasting over their campfires different types of meats and potatoes to celebrate with.

"Alright Amos, we'll meet up with you before the game at six," Mr. Weasley waved to Mr. Diggory. I breathed a sigh of relief; the man had been getting under my skin worse than Mr. Malfoy even could. Alright, maybe not.

Arthur led Ginny, Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Harry and I through the tents until we came to one small triangular shaped tent. Everyone began to pile in without question. Harry and I exchanged looks of confusion until Mr. Weasley gently pushed us forward into the tent. As soon as I stepped inside I realized how everyone fit. The inside was at least ten times the size of what it was on the outside.

Ron immediately ran to the kitchen, his knapsack still tied around his shoulders. Fred and George plopped down at a table in the back lounging their long lanky legs across the table. Hermione and Ginny were taking their bags to the bedroom were several hammocks were all set up and layered on top of another. I took my bag and placed it next to the couch that was placed right near the entrance.

"Ron, get out of the kitchen we're all hungry. Fred, George, feet off the table."

"Feet off the table!" The boys both chimed and pretended to take their feet off but didn't actually do so.

I pulled out a book that I had stolen from Hermione's collection and nuzzled into the couch. Sports weren't really my thing. For a few hours I was able to ignore the boys buzzing about and fighting over who was going to win the Quidditch World Cup. By the time it was time to go, I had become so invested in my book that I didn't notice the twins sneak up next to me. I had been right up to the part where Mestrophis was about to be revealed for his disloyalty towards his army when I was sent flying up in the air.

My book shot up over my head and I took a big gulp of air in surprise when I felt myself being quickly lifted off the couch. I flailed my arms out until they found the shoulders of each of the twins.

"Ireland!" The boys screamed facing each other, each holding me like a cradle from my right and left side. They bolted quickly out of the tent then flipped me over like one would do to a child. I let out a short yelp when my feet were sent over my head. As I mentioned sports were not my forte and neither was anything that was more physically active than flipping a page of a book.

Harry, Hermione, and Harry came out of the tent followed by the other Weasley boys and Mrs. Weasley who were all also dawned in either red or green. I had apparently missed the face painting ceremony. As well as the appearance of Charlie, Percy, and Bill.

We met up with the Diggorys again, Amos started to go off about how his son proved to be one of the best charmers known to wizard kind. While Mr. Diggory went on bragging Arthurs and Percy's ear off we, including Cedric, all ran ahead and started purchasing some little trinkets to bring with us to the game. I purchased a five hour tattoo from a charmer, it was a vine of shamrocks that moved. It traveled started at first at the very tip of my middle finger where the charmer had first placed his wand and started to wrap and grow up my finger to the rest of my hand.

"Thank you," Hermione and I spoke in unison then moved back to the group. I had purchased her the tattoo, she hadn't brought any money with her to the game and I had no objections to lending her a bit. Harry had thought the same as I had apparently. He handed Hermione and I each an omnicular, an object very similar to a pair of binoculars that could also slow down movement for better definition of actions.

"I can't take these," Ron awkwardly tried to avoid taking the omnicular from Harry.

"It's no big deal, I just won't get you a Christmas present," Harry waved Ron off and handed him the omnicular before moving on.

We all walked to the field where the game was to take place. I could see the bright shine of the arena before I actually reached it. The arena had to be at least thirty or forty stories high. I had a strong distaste for heights, only my brother and Draco had figured that out. One was more than cautious when dealing with my fear and the other would often forget and suddenly remember after the chance for preventing the mental damage was far long and gone. Surprisingly to many Draco was the gentler handler.

We began the trek up the many staircases regardless. I could feel the queasiness in my stomach grow more and more with each flight of stairs we passed. Eventually we reached at least the twentieth floor, Arthur was starting to weaze a bit, but the excitement in his eyes did not waver.

"Blimey Dad! How far up are we," George yelled out as we were about to ascend another set of stairs.

"All the way up," Mr. Weasley yelled forward to George who was at the front of our group. I groaned on the inside but forced myself to imagine that we were only climbing the same first floor flight of stairs over and over again so that I didn't vomit all over. We finally reached the top of the stadium when I realized that I had actually climbed the first floor a total of forty-seven times. Seven more than what I had originally predicted. When I was able to see the sudden drop that allowed us to few the field I couldn't resist myself from snatching Harry's arm.

"Ouch!" He grabbed at my hand that was surely bruising his skin. I decided that I was going through more mental pain than he was physically and didn't let go.

"Ah, here we are," Arthur led us over to our small box. Of course right up against the front of the balcony. So that we had the best chance to fall off and possibly die. "Aren't these just prime seats!" I grimaced and took my seat. I was so preoccupied on controlling my panicing state that I hadn't taken in anything that was happening around me until I heard my name being picked up in a conversation.

"And this is his sister, Rose Potter." I jumped and looked around until I saw Cornelius Fudge introducing myself and Harry to some man that I didn't recognize.

"Harry, Rose, this is the Bulgarian Minister," I put on my calm Slytherin face that I had been mastering through the years and smiled politely at him. The Prime Minister suddenly seemed to notice Harry's scar then pointed excitedly at him then back at me.

"Knew we'd get there in the end. Where's Barty Crouch when I need him, the man doesn't speak a spot of English. He'll be here soon enough though, I see he sent up his house elf to keep his seats for him. Good thing too those Bulgarians have been snatching the seats. Ah! And here comes Lucius Malfoy." Fudge turned to greet Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy and Draco who followed close behind. I smiled again politely at Lucius and his wife who returned the smile.

"Fudge," Mr. Malfoy shook hands with the Minister, "How are you? I don't think you've met my wife Narcissa? Or our son, Draco?"

"How do you do, how do you do?" Fudge flashed a large smile to Mrs. Malfoy and bowed a little. "It's a pleasure to meet you, let me introduce you to Mr. Oblansk – Obalonsk – Mr… well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a damn word I'm saying anyway so never mind. And let's see who else – you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?" Mr. Malfoy raised his chin and looked at the entire group we had come with.

" Good lord Arthur, what did you have to sell to get in the top box? Surely your house isn't worth enough," his tone was soft but his words were far from that. Fudge had been distracted by a firework that had went off like they had been for the past half hour.

"Lucius has just donated a very generous amount to the St. Mungo's hospital, Arthur. He's here as my guest." Fudge smiled politely at Mr. Weasley who in turn offered a strained and uncomfortable reciprocal.

"How – how nice."

Lucius gazed over at Hermione whose face then turned slightly more pink than usual. The Malfoys hated muggles, and muggle born witches and wizards. They didn't have an overly fond taste for half-bloods either. They really only approved of pure-bloods and supporters of pure bloods. They had once informed me that they believed that I took after my pure-blood side, and that they didn't believe that my 'unfortunate muggle born blood' was as present in my body than as my brothers. I remember that day as the day I had literally bit a hole in my tongue. I had spent some time with the Malfoys every summer, I told the Dursleys I had a position at a muggle studies camp to teach witches and wizards how to become better at being normal. They of course approved.

"Enjoy the game Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy." Lucius bowed his head at me and Narcissa offered a short smirk after glaring dissaprovingly at my brother.

The game went on without another thought of the Malfoys. After another hour the shock of the height we were at lessened and I could enjoy the rest of the game being only slightly terrified. Upon the end of the game when Krum had caught the snitch but still lost the game, I had never seen Fred and George Weasley even more excited. They enthusiastically accepted the bet they had made with Ludo Bagman.

Everyone rushed out of the stadium. I however knew that I was going to need some time on the stairs. Coming down was always harder than going up.

"Are you coming," Hermione asked when she realized I was staying in my seat.

"No, I'm going to watch the fireworks. I'll meet up with you guys later." She nodded and went down the stairs along with the rest of the group. I sat back while the place emptied out and watched the fireworks form different shapes and animations of course all were shamrocks, leprechauns, or the Irish flag.

"Enjoy the game?" I looked behind me and found Draco standing by himself. He walked around the row of chairs separating us and sat down right next to me.

"Yes, I actually did," I crossed my arms and crossed my legs. Despite it being summer, being up so high in the night made it a little chillier than normal.

"Let me guess, you're waiting for people to leave so that you can go down without having to worry about people seeing you scared." He had a smug face that I had seen him use quite often on my friends. We stared at eachother for a moment until I sent a little spark at him from my wand, which I kept up my sleeve. He yelped and jumped in his seat a little. We laughed for a little then settled down again and enjoyed the rest of the fireworks in silence. A lot of our time together consisted of silence. We seemed to be comfortable with each other enough that we didn't always have to fill the air with our voices. Neither of us was very fond of chit-chat either. When then last firework went off a half hour later we both began to stand up.

Luckily there weren't a large amount of people leaving at this point since many had already left, either bummed that their team had lost or so excited that they immediately wanted to go and celebrate. Draco and I slowly made our way down the stairs. I held on to the railing for dear life and tried not to look down through the grated stairs. The first set was the worst after some time the knowledge that I was getting closer to the bottom encouraged me to fear less. Draco walked silently next to me. I was more than thankful when the last step came up. We started to walk through but when he saw his parents with their backs turned to us while they were speaking to Goyle's parents he stopped in his tracks.

"Wait," he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a closet that was right next to the bottom of the staircase. Draco started to inspect the small room as if looking for someone and threw a muffling charm on the door. I didn't question him. He started to pull something out of his pocket slowly as if he were debating something within himself. He wouldn't look at me while he did it, but he pulled out a chain with a silver pendant on it. "Father heard there is supposed to be an attack here at the tents late tonight." He put the chain in my hand. "This should protect you against the hexes and jinxes that they normally use, but don't take the chance it's tempermental with the curses. Get out of here. Don't tell anyone that my father knows, not even your idiot brother." I gaped at him with my mouth open.

"Who's going to attack," I asked surprised. He looked at me then shook his head.

"I can't tell you, just trust me." He took the charm off the door and left the closet. I put the chain around my neck and stuffed it inside my shirt before leaving the room.

"Ah, Ms. Potter," Mrs. Goyle chimed seeing me over the shoulder of Mrs. Malfoy. I walked up next to Draco who was standing with his parents.

"Good evening Mrs. Goyle, Mrs. Goyle, Gregory." I concealed the panic that had built up in me. Gregory Goyle and I weren't particularly close friends, we just tolerated each other since we both were friends of Draco. I tended to stay away from Crabbe and Goyle though when I could. The two had always been a nasty pair.

"Did you come with Lucius and Narcissa, dear?" Mrs. Goyle asked sweetly. I had prior experience with Mrs. Goyle and her sweet conversations were typically the reciprocal of what her thoughts were.

"No, my brothers friends invited me to come with them, they were given some seats and had some extra for my brother and I." I knew better than to call Hermione or the Weasleys my own personal friends to the Malfoys or the Goyles. Draco knew that I did indeed enjoy their company, but the majority of pure-blood families believed that I only tolerated them for the sake of my relationship with my brother. Family bonds were strong to many pure-blood families, most thankfully didn't question my liking of my brother.

"The Weasleys," Mr. Goyles face scrunched up as if he had just walked into a cloud of noxious gas. "You let the poor girls game be spoiled by a bunch of muggle lovers, Lucius?" I bit the inside of my cheeks and did not dare show any distaste for their conversation. Lucius laughed cooly.

"I was not aware that she would be attending at all." Lucius looked over to me with a sharp eye. I knew that since Draco and I had such a strong bond that whatever I did would reflect the Malfoy household. I had overheard Lucius many times bragging about how he had practically taken me in as a child of his own in the summer to save me some torment from the humiliation of living with muggles. Obviously I never viewed Mr. Malfoy as a father figure but I was often times thankful for that week of release from the Dursleys.

"Thank you for the thought, however I'm afraid that I must be off. The excitement of the festivities has made me tired. I'll see you both on the train." I smiled politely to both before I took off to quickly reach the tent. I practically ran to the tent once I was out of eyesight of the Malfoys and Goyles.

"Ah, there you are, I was beginning to get a bit worried," I had almost ran into Arthur as I ducked and bolted into the tent.

"Sorry, I wanted to see the rest of the fireworks." I said quickly. I looked around at how unorganized and unpacked everyone was. It wouldn't be a quick pack up when we had to leave. I wringed my hands trying to think for a moment. Ron, Fred and George were running around singing some Irish chant.

"Don't you think we should straighten up a bit, maybe pack back up some of our bags. I mean people can just walk right in the tent, there's nothing stopping them from grabbing some of our stuff and leaving with it," I suggested loudly so that everyone could hear. Percy seemed to take the threat seriously and started to pack up the small bag he had packed.

"Oh, always such the worry wart you are." Arthur patted my back. I groaned, my back still feeling a bit sore from the episode the night before. I shook my head and packed my bag up and even packed up Harry's small bag a bit.

The already loud campsite from everyone celebrating started to grow louder. At first I didn't think it was the attack until I heard an ear piercing shriek. Fred and George were throwing shamrock confetti up in the air pretending to do a jig when Arthur cam running in from outside of the tent after another uproar from the crowd outside. I started to feel very uneasy and shakily was throwing everything into bags.

"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on," George remarked.

"Stop! It's not the Irish," He grabbed twins who were standing on the coffee table. "Get your things, we're being attacked." The screams were starting to get louder. Arthur grabbed Ginny's bag and threw it over her head and pushed her over to Fred and George.

"What do you mean," Ron asked taking the quilt off his head that Fred had thrown on him.

"Get her out of here," he pointed to Fred and George. "Kids you all stay together." He pointed to Harry, Hermione, Ron and myself. "Bill, Charlie, Percy, with me," the four of them all pulled out their wands and Percy threw me his bag which he had shrunk quickly before they all ran out of the tent. Fred and George left their stuff and both grabbed one of Ginny's arms with their other hand on their wand as they ran out.

Hermione ran and grabbed her small bag. I grabbed Ron and Harry's bag and pushed them into their hands.

"Get moving," I pushed them all since they were standing there confused. When we left the tent I thought we had stepped into a warzone. People were running and screaming, I saw several of them with singed hair and clothing. I could see the glow of fire just beyond some of the tents then those tents erupted into flames. More people suddenly came darting at us and pushed us all around. Hermione grabbed a hold of my shirt and Ron grabbed a hold of Hermione. The multitude of people running about us separated us from Harry.

"Harry," we screamed out realizing he wasn't behind us. A person in a black robe and a silver mask suddenly appeared and pointed a wand at us.

"Confringo," a burst of flames erupted out from the tip of the wand. I didn't even think as I lifted my wand.

"Aqua eructo," I pointed my wand and a giant cloud of steam built up in the middle where the fire and a jet of water my wand produced met. The fire stopped, presumably because the cloaked man was surprised. Hermione took the moment to grab us and run since the cloaked man couldn't see through the thick cloud.

"Harry!" Ron, Hermione and I were all shouting his name as we continued running through the panicking crowd. We kept running through the crowd trying to find him. Every dark haired teen we passed I yanked on to see if it could have been Harry. After a while we ran around the tents to pass past the group of men that were pillaging through the campsite. We would duck by a tent and wait for a bit then run behind the next one. The fires were starting to completely destroy the tents, leaving nothing but burnt wood and ash. We kept at it though. We kept running screaming his name out until our voices grew hoarse and our legs were going limp, but I couldn't feel any of that. Losing my brother was not a possibility to me.

Soon enough the place was entirely barren. The only movement was the flicker of dieing fires and the slow creep of the fog and smoke that was moving along the grounds.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed out.

"Harry, where are you," Ron let out a defeated sounding yell. We were looking out around the grounds, still dragging our clumsy tired feet up and over fallen down tents and rubble. I saw a quick dash of movement that looked to be a person.

"Over there," I started running toward the figure who was faced away from us. As I grew closer I saw that the figure was wearing the same black jacket that Harry had been wearing that day.

"Harry!" I ran faster and nearly tackled him but he turned around just before I threw my arms around him. He caught me and returned the hug. Hermione and Ron soon followed.

"We've been looking for you for ages. I thought we lost you," Ron shook his head. I let go of Harry when I noticed he was antsy and looking at something up in the sky. I looked up at what caught his attention and felt a lurch in my stomach from the shock. I had seen that design. Lucius Malfoy had that tattooed on his left forearm along with Mr. Goyle. I had accidently walked in on them showing their tattoos to each other on one of the days I had spent with the Malfoys over the summer. They quickly hid it away but I had already seen the mark. Draco later regretfully informed me it was the dark mark.

"What is that," Harry asked, almost as soon as he finished the question a shock of pain went through my back. I staggered backward and clutched onto a broken tent that had been burnt except for the foundation. Hermione and Ron were fussing over Harry thankfully so I was able to get through the pain on my own. I dug through my bag that I packed but couldn't find the salve through my foggy, pain filled mind.

"Acio curse scar salve," I pointed my wand into my bag and the salve jumped right out of the bag. I fumbled with the lid but smeared it on my back under my shirt and gritted my teeth until the salve started to calm my burning skin. I ran over to Harry after I was able to think again and slathered a little of the salve onto his forehead. He started to breath normally again and I could tell that the pain was dimming down. We apparently weren't allowed to have a second to fully relax. About six sudden bursts of smoke appeared six men all with their wands out.

"Stupefy!" The men all yelled in unison sending a six red sources of light in our direction. Before the hexes could reach us I (without knowing) deflected the spells to all travel upward. That pendent Draco had given me seemed to boost my instinct.

"Stop!" I heard Arthur Weasley's voice yelling from past the men. He ran towards us desperately, "that's my son!" Barty Crouch followed him running at us. "Harry, Rose, Ron, Hermione, are you alright?"

"Which of you conjured it?" Crouch yelled pointing his wand in our face.

"Crouch, you can't possibly," Arthur seemed flabbergasted.

"That is a lie, you've been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Crime?" Harry asked in unison.

"Barty they're just kids." Arthur seemed seriously confused and almost worried for the chief inspector.

"What crime," Harry insisted.

"It's the dark mark Harry, it's his mark." Hermione whispered to him.

"Voldemort, those people tonight in the masks they're his too aren't they, his followers?" Harry asked Mr. Weasley. He nodded.

"Death eaters." Arthur confirmed to Crouch whose expression grew serious in a terrified manner.

"Follow me." He motioned for the other five men to all follow him in the direction he was running to. Harry hesitated a moment then stepped forward calling after Crouch.

"Um.. There was a man before…" Barty Crouch looked back to Harry with wide eyes. Harry point just to the right of where Crouch was already heading, "There."

"All of you this way!" We watched the men all run off.

"A man harry who," Arthur asked.

"I dunno, I didn't see his face." He looked at me for a moment then turned his attention to the ominous design in the night sky. Arthur then began to pull us away.

"You don't need to see this, let's get going. Molly will be sick with worry."

* * *

A/N: Just a reminder in case anyone is a little confused, I'm mixing the books and the movies. I hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading. Any criticism is welcome, it is how I learn to become a better writer.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This just occurred to me, but if it matters I use American English as well as the US measuring system. Sorry if there has been any confusion. Also there is a bit of adult language in here for anyone that wants to avoid it, (mild spoiler) it is located after Arthur comes home from work.

Chapter 3

We walked quickly back to the portkey, Mr. Weasley had his wand at the ready the entire time as Harry held a lumous in the front so that we could find our way around. We all should have been exhausted but everyone seemed alert and ready to return to the Burrow. When we approached the hill where the portkey was we all quickened our pace. We all waited for Arthur to give us the go ahead to grab a hold of the portkey.

"Ready everyone? One, two, three," we were all sucked into the swirling vortex and thrown about. This time I remembered the trick that Mr. Weasley had shown us upon his landing at the World Cup. I cycled my legs like I was riding a bike and stumbled only a little as my feet touched the ground. Harry and Ron were both flopped on the ground, stiffly trying to get up. Hermione, being the smart witch she was, also took head of Arthurs mini lesson earlier on and also landed with a little more grace than the two struggling to get off the ground.

"Alright there boys?" Arthur slapped Ron on the back who then groaned, probably already trying to get over the soreness he felt throughout his body.

We walked on still with a quick pace, still on edge with our wands close to us. The night sky, which had been clear during the game, had grown cloudy as if the world itself were cringing from the traumatic scar that was cast upon the sky earlier. After a half hour of stumbling quickly through the dark a faint light could be see from over the top of a small hill we were climbing. As we reached the top we could see the Burrow and a few lights lit in the windows and doorway. I could hear Hermione breathe a sigh of relief.

Mrs. Weasley was sitting on a rocker on the front patio clutching her embroidery with firm hands, squinting out into the fields around her. She probably couldn't see us as well as we could her since she was within the safe light of the house and we were hidden in the shadows of the night.

"Hello Molly," Arthur called out as we were yards away from the house. Molly snapped her head to where the sound came from and jumped up from her chair dropping the embroidery which softly fell to the ground after the short soft cling that signaled the needle hitting the old, worn wood.

"Arthur," she called out stepping off the patio walking toward us.

"Over here," Arthur picked up his pace a bit so that he was in line of site to Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, thank goodness. Are you alright, are the kids all with you?" She threw her arms over his neck and left her hands on the sides of his head as she asked about us.

"Right behind him, mum," Ron called and we all walked up behind Arthur who had ran a bit forward. She threw her hands forward grabbed Ron by the shoulders and hugged him just a bit tighter than she did Arthur.

"Are you all alright," she ran her eyes over all of us, seeming to need to make sure we were all there by placing her hands on all of our cheeks.

"We're okay Mrs. Weasley," I said softly. She took a deep shuddering breath. Her motherliness would surely cause her a heart attack one day.

"Right then," she pulled herself away standing up straighter than she had before, "off to bed, all of you. It's nearly three in the morning." We all nodded and walked tiredly up the many-storied house and to our perspective rooms. I pulled out the first night dress I could find and slipped into bed. Mrs. Malfoy had been appalled when she had seen me in my cotton shorts and large t-shirt that I would typically wear to bed and insisted that I throw the rags out. The next morning she had three bags of nightdresses, robes, and slippers for me to wear. When I returned to the Dursleys I was more than happy when Aunt Petunia handed me a pair of Dudley's old pajama pants that she was going to throw out and a large t-shirt that he had snagged a hole in the armpit. It took a good three washes before I felt comfortable to wear it.

Hermione and I both were quiet since Ginny was already asleep in bed. The bed I had been sleeping in had been transformed into a bunk for Hermione to sleep on top of. She climbed in first and after only a minute or two I could hear her subtle snore.

I breathed out and rolled on my stomach. Feeling my back relax from the strain it took from laying on it. All I could do was lay with my eyes open thinking about everything that had happened that day and if maybe Voldemort was returning.

The next morning I woke as I heard Molly bustling about in the kitchen. I must have only fallen asleep an hour beforehand. I had also always been a light sleeper. Light sleeping was necessary being a Slytherin. Trust wasn't a common trait the housemates possessed, which led to many trying to snoop through belongings. While I had nothing physical to hide, I didn't trust that they wouldn't create a lie out of the ordinary.

I sat up from the bed and tied a robe around my body not feeling like dressing quite yet and went down to the kitchen. Breakfast this morning was a little less festive than the one beforehand, I only was asked to boil some water for shredded wheat and pull out some sugar, milk, and honey for people to use. Shredded wheat was probably my favorite breakfast. I noticed as we prepared breakfast that Mrs. Weasley was very quiet. I could tell she was wrapped up in the events of the night before. Nothing seemed to bring her out of her trance of cooking until their owl smashed into the kitchen window. We both snapped our heads up to see what the noise was then watched as the old owl fell from the windowsill to the ground outside.

"Oh," Mrs. Weasley grumbled, "would you go get him, dear?" I nodded and walked outside to grab the poor exhausted owl. I stroked his head gently and lifted him up on my forearm, grabbing the letter that he held.

When I entered the room house again Mr. Weasley was talking in the family room to someone, who I presumed was Percy since the conversation was based around the Ministry. I held out the note to Mrs. Weasley.

"Thank you, would you mind giving that to Arthur?" I nodded and walked into the living room. I was slightly surprised to not find Percy in the room but instead Amos Diggory, but not his full self. Instead, I found Arthur sitting on a footrest crouched over some burning embers talking into the face of Amos Diggory. I hid my surprised and cleared my throat not wanting to interrupt rudely. Mr. Diggory quieted a bit and Arthur turned to look at me with his nightcap still lopsided on his head.

"This just came for you Mr. Weasley." I held out the letter toward him and walked away only hearing the last bit of the conversation.

"Please Arthur, we need you." I bit my lip. Mr. Weasley was a hard working man. He loved his family more than anything and did all that he could to keep money coming into their household and to keep them safe. I respected him more than any rich pureblooded man for that. After a few moments, Arthur came into the kitchen.

"The ministry needs me to come in and straighten out some publicity situations. That Rita Skeeter is causing quite a ruckus. I'll try and be back for dinner Molly." He walked over and kissed his wife on her head and seeming a bit frantic.

"When are you going."

"I'll be getting dressed and saying bye to the kids then heading out."

"What about breakfast?" Molly had always had a thing about people eating.

"I'll take this thank you!" He grabbed a piece of toast and put it in his mouth as he ran up the stairs. Molly went on to shake her head and hand me the large pile of plates to set out on the table.

"Might as well call them down for breakfast while you're at it Arthur," she yelled up the stairs after him. I smirked and knew that it would take more than Arthurs sweet and soft morning words to fully wake them and have them come down. In fact I looked forward to it. I wasn't normally the type of person to enjoy watching people suffer, but when Mrs. Weasley was inflicting the annoyance it was the most entertaining event.

Arthur ran down the stairs merely fifteen minutes later and kissed Mrs. Weasley again. I left the room with my tea and sat down on patio chair in the backyard. The morning sun was still a little pink. I waited and sat like that thinking of the short dream I had had the night before. It wasn't more than a few seconds, but I could see Peter Pettigrew holding a snake's fang to a bottle while the venom dripped from the teeth. I know that I needed to ask Harry if he was dreaming these as well. We obviously had both been feeling the pain from our scars but I don't know if he knew of my pain as well.

"Boys you come down for breakfast now," I heard Molly yell up the stairs. I stood up and went inside and found Hermione and Ginny sitting at the table with their cups of coffee. I sneered at the stuff.

"Looking like a true Slytherin you are," Ginny remarked at my sneer. I smirked and sat down.

"That poison will kill you one day." I said as I took another delicious sip of my tea.

"But it has already saved my life so many times," Hermione imitated me taking a deep gulp of her coffee before scrunching up her face in pain. "Hot." She leaned her head forward and clutched her throat.

"Exactly." I muttered and fetched her a cup of water.

"I told you to come get breakfast! Don't make me get the bucket, Fred Weasley," Mrs. Weasley yelled from upstairs. Hermione giggled and looked up at me while I was smirking. Ginny seemed unfazed and continued to read the newspaper she had gotten from Pigwidgeon. Who was excitedly flying around the outside of the house.

After breakfast Fred and George suggested a game of quidditch, which I wanted very much to. I nodded my head slowly as they stared at me with large pleading eyes.

"Alright," the twins both clapped hands and raced upstairs to change. Ginny was already dressed and headed out to the field to set up the game and pull the brooms out for us. I figured now would be a good time to talk to Harry. Hermione and Ron both ran upstairs and Mrs. Weasley was out in her garden pulling some weeds out.

"Wait," I grabbed a hold of his arm and watched the others run up. He turned around expectantly.

"What?" I let out a sigh of annoyance at his attitude.

"It's something important Harry," I furrowed my eyebrows together.

"Alright, what is it?" He rolled his eyes.

"I had a dream the other night." His attention suddenly snapped up and I knew that I didn't need to ask him anything else to know that he had also dreamt it.

"About Peter Pettigrew and two other men," he asked. I nodded.

"And I woke up because my back was burning." He nodded as well, I could tell that we were both thinking of the same grim meaning that could be behind the dreams, pains, and dark mark.

"I sent Sirius a letter," Harry said.

"Alright, let's see what he says and I think we should talk to someone at school." I twisted my fingers in my hand knowing that both Harry and I found faith in different characters.

"Right, I thought of sending Dumbledore an owl but I thought it would sound stupid." I took the turn to roll my eyes. I didn't trust Dumbledore as far as I could throw him. The man had always seemed to be up to something.

"I don't think we should tell Dumbledore." I crossed my arms and tilted my chin up.

"Who then? Snape!" I frowned at the way Harry spit Snape's name out as if it were the earwax Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean.

"Fine, let's just keep it between us and Sirius." I had no actual intention of doing that and was set on meeting with Professor Snape later to discuss what we both had experienced.

The game had gone terribly. Much like the games for the next weak went, since that was mostly what we did at the Weasleys. I had fallen off the broom more times than I had even come near the bludger. I never saw the damn snitch and the only time I actually touched the bludger with my bat was when I tried to block it from smashing into me and of course throwing me off the broom.

"You okay Potter," George asked floating ten feet above me. I nodded then hoarsely replied.

"I think I'll keep score for a bit."

We played until the sun was setting and Mrs. Weasley demanded that we come in and eat since we had all (except Ronald of course) skipped lunch that day.

She had set up dinner outside since the night was so perfect and we ate in a merry and relaxed fashion. The only thing missing was Mrs. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley set aside a large plate for him before we ate though; Ron who had always been a big eater was going through another growth spurt. After dinner we all gathered in the family room. Hermione and I were on the couch reading. We exchanged books and wanted to finish before school started. Hermione and I tended to stay away from each other during the year. There were too many situations where the Slytherins who I was mostly around would make snide, disgusting comments on Hermione's non-magic heritage. If they didn't, they would ream me out later for socializing with her.

Bill and Ron were playing chess and talking about Rita Skeeter and her outlandish reports she had made. Charlie was darning a fireproff balaclava and Harry was polishing his broom. Fred and George, however, were huddled in the corner writing whispering to each other. I frowned and looked up from my book when I suddenly heard Mrs. Weasley quiet herself. She was looking at the boys in the corner.

"What are you two up two?" Her voice called out.

"Homework," Fred lied.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're still on holiday."

"Yeah, we've left it a bit late," George added to Fred's lie. While the lie wasn't totally off their character, I knew for a fact that still wouldn't do homework even this late.

"You're not by any chance writing out a new order form, are you? You wouldn't be thinking of re-starting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, by any chance?" Hermione looked up over her book to watch the twins have it served to them.

"Now mum," Fred turned around with his hands in front of him ready to start an argument that I was positive wouldn't pass, "If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow, and George and I died, how would you feel to know that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation?" I bit my lip to keep from laughing. George had told me how when they got back the other night Mrs. Weasley had thrown herself on them apologizing and saying that she was mortified that the last thing she could have said to them was that she was aggravated with them over OWLS. The rest of the room also all laughed.

The clock in the kitchen chimed signaling that someone's position was changing. Mrs. Weasley looked over.

"Your father's on his way home." Mrs. Weasley stated. Only a few seconds later there was a pop and we could hear Mr. Weasley approach the door. We all greeted him and waited for him to come back in with his dinner tray.

"Well the fat's really in the fire now," he was talking to Mrs. Weasley but I think that we all were trying to hear the conversation. "Rita Skeeter's been ferreting around all week, looking for more Ministry mess-ups to report." I took note of Ms. Skeeter's tendency to screw people over. This was not a woman to piss off. Somehow the topic of house elves came up and send Hermione into a frenzy against Percy. The subject was the fire to light her TNT. I also took note not to mention house elves around her.

"You should all go make sure that you've all packed properly for tomorrow." Mrs. Weasley saved us all from having to endure that argument any longer.

Hermione, Ginny, and I all ran up the stairs. I took everything out of my trunk and repacked everything pack in, crossing what I did have off my list. I did notice that there was one aspect of the list that I found curious. A formal dress was added to the list for the year.

"Here you go Ginny dear," Mrs. Weasley handed Ginny a cloth wrapped package. Ginny opened it up and smiled.

"It's lovely mum, thanks." I could see pink and blue fabric that seemed to be of a formal dress.

"What are the formal dresses for," I asked confused and looking at the list again.

"It's a surprise, you'll find out tomorrow when you lot get there." She started to shut the door. I felt a small bit of panic rise in me when I realized that there was no way I would be able to get a formal dress by tomorrow.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Mrs. Weasley popped back in the room and pointed to me. "Don't worry about getting your dress dear, I got a letter from Remus saying that he was going to take care of it." I was confused but I allowed it to slide.

"Alright, thank you Mrs. Weasley." I repacked my trunk up and climbed into bed. The exhaustion from the endless rounds of quidditch finally catching up to me sent me straight into my dreams, more like nightmares, which I would hardly call a break from the numerous meetings between my face and the ground caused by falling off a broom.

A/N: I know that this chapter was pretty uneventful, but I promise the next will be better. I'm glad I got this chapter done, it's always so much easier to write when its something dramatic haha. The next chapter should be up by Monday, Tuesday at the latest. Just in case that little bit of the dream confused anyone who hasn't read the books, in the books Peter 'milked' Nagini for Voldemort to drink from. Milking a snake means to take the venom from the fangs haha the first time I read the book I was certain that it meant he was literally milking the snake like a cow. Wrong. Also I just want to quickly thank the two reviewers that I had, very sweet comments, kept me inspired to keep writing. As always criticism is more than welcome, it is how I learn. I hope you all enjoyed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Arthur had been called in for work again the next morning. He said goodbye to everyone before he left, knowing he wouldn't see them for a while. We all made it to Kings Cross Station in one piece but very soaked from the large amount of rain we had found ourselves in. We each had our own carts and pushed them through the wall between platform 9 and 10, being careful not to alarm any muggles on the way. I took a deep breath of air in.

We all dropped our luggage off then went to say goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie who had come with us.

"Don't worry," Charlie winked and hugged Ginny, "you might be seeing me sooner than you think." I eyed him for a moment.

"Why," Fred seemed both curious and annoyed.

"You'll see," his smirk was evil enough I swore that it reminded me of Urquharts. Fred had an unnatural curiosity at times. If he couldn't find out about something he wanted to know it would bother him for days or at least until he could find out what it was. Bill, being his brother, knew this. "Yeah, I wish I were back at Hogwarts the year." He broke his playful banter with his brother to look longingly back at the train.

"Why," Fred insisted.

"You're just going to have an interesting year, I might even get some time off to come and watch."

"Watch what!" Fred stuffed his hands in his pockets angrily sensing that his brother wasn't going to tell. The whistle blew letting us know that it was time to get back in the train and say our final goodbyes.

"Thank you for your hospitality Mrs. Weasley," I smiled softly disregarding the fuming child Fred was being as he stewed next to me.

"Yes, thank you." Hermione piped up and gave Mrs. Weasley a hug as well as Harry. I stayed where I was. I wasn't a big fan of physical contact.

We split up from there. I flashed a quick smile at Harry and left the group to go find where Draco had settled into. I found him shockingly right next to Harry's compartment. I wanted to puke as soon as I saw the position him and Pansy were resting in. Pansy was leaning against him staring out the window to her parents. She had her hand resting on his thigh. While she may have been pretending innocence to him, I knew that later today she would be making comments in our dormitory on how he was showing growth in their non-existent relationship

"Hello half-and-half," I had a sudden visual in my head of me slipping a Slytherin decorated mask over my face and beating the senses out of Pansy. Draco shot a look of disgust in Pansy's direction and sharply shoved her off him, then made eye contact with me before turning to look out the window again.

"Hello Parkinson." I sat down across from Draco and pulled Artemis, my cat, out of her cat carrier and placed her on my lap. I happened to know that Pansy's biggest fear was of cats, thanks to Remus and his defense against the dark arts class on boggarts.

"Where are your parents Draco," I asked stroking the purring cat, ignorantly giving Pansy lovey eyes.

"There, over there," he pointed over toward my part of the window. I looked out and saw them speaking to each other. Mrs. Malfoys nose was scrunched up like a feather was stuck under it and if she relaxed her nose it would cause her to sneeze. The caught sight of me and politely smiled. I returned their smile with a subtle nod and returned to relax against the back of my seat. I had hoped that Tracey Davis or even Daphne Greengrass would come in and fill the seat next to mine before anyone else could but instead Blaise Zambini came and claimed it, followed by Crabbe and Goyle who took the two seats on the end. I was thankful to have Blaise there instead of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. While he wasn't a supporter of muggle born wizards he kept to himself and was better than most of Slytherin.

The train started to move.

"Tell me what's happening!" I heard Fred's voice scream from down the train over all of the voices in Kings Cross Station. I bit the inside of my cheeks to keep from smiling.

"Down right idiots those two are," Goyle said as he played with door of the compartment seeing how hard he had to slam the door to make his finger her.

"Indeed," I drawled. Blaise casted a look in my direction, he seemed just as disappointed in our classmate as I did.

Pansy leaned over Draco's lap to wave to her parents goodbye. Artemis was startled by her sudden jump and hissed at her sending her flying back into her seat with a startled expression.

"Cat caught your tongue," I asked feeling right back where the two of us had left off. I could see Blaise smirk from his seat. While he may support purebloods, he didn't seem to support the impropriety that many pureblooded children in Slytherin showed. I turned my attention back to Draco.

"How are your mother and father fairing Draco?" He waved one last time as his parents passed by our window. Then looked up at me to answer.

"They are doing well, father is just unhappy that mother made me come back to this dump of a school."

"What do you mean?"

"Well father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know." He now started bragging to everyone in the compartment. "He knows the headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore – the man's such a Mudblood-lover –" I internally cringed at his used of language, "and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff. But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the defense rubbish we do."

"I suppose the best way to defend against the Dark Arts would be to actually understand how it works."

"Why would we need to defend ourselves against the Dark Arts if we learn it," Goyle snapped at me. He had never liked me from the beginning. Even though he was one of Draco's loyal followers, he was the most discriminatory boy I had ever had the misfortune of meeting.

"Just because you are learning dark arts doesn't mean that someone isn't going to use it against you." I know that my voice had gotten dark and the thought surely got to Goyle who now snapped his attention to gaze off to the side. I pulled out my book and spent the rest of the train ride trying to ignore the rest of the conversations Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, and Pansy were having. Blaise seemed to take after my lead and pulled out a book of his own.

I only looked up about two hours later when Draco left the cabin followed by the three idiots. I could hear Ron's voice through the half open cabin.

"We saw him right up close, as well. We were in the Top Box," he sounded excited and I knew he was talking about the Quidditch World Cup.

"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley." Draco's voice carried back into our compartment. I shook my head and closed the door, not wanting to hear the fight that would probably break out between them. When I sat back down, Blaise had his book in his lap and was looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"Don't seem so worried or they'll think you actually like them." He said softly so that no one outside of the compartment could hear. I took my seat again.

"I was not aware that wishing to shut a door showed signs of concern." I said without emotion and opened my book again. I could still hear the faint sound of the argument happening in the hallway and tried to block it out. What I had learned about Draco was that he hardly ever was cruel to a persons face unless they had given them a reason. In my memory I could pinpoint the moments that each of the trio had given him the snobbery that led him to his bullying of them. It's not that their actions as young children gave Draco the okay to treat them as he did, but I could understand at the least why he disliked them. He tended to reciprocate the attitudes others showed him.

A few minutes later I heard the doors open again and the boys all sat down. I noticed that Pansy had not moved and stayed frozen in the doorway. I looked up and found her having a staring match with Artemis who was sitting on her seat.

"Apologies, Parkinson," I leaned forward and picked up Artemis with a smirk on my face. The rest of the train ride went on without any more annoyances. I had gotten up just an hour before the train was to arrive and put on my Slytherin uniform.

As I passed by a compartment to head back to my own I flung myself backward as sparkling firework flew out and nearly missed my head. After I heard the pop that would signal its finally I looked around for the culprit. Fred and George, who else? I stared at them with a very unamused expression.

"Sorry, you're a Slytherin again mate." George smirked and was ready to rev up another one. I quickly shuffled down the hall and ran into my compartment again.

"I mean can you actually believe that his own family wouldn't tell him." I caught what seemed to be the end of a conversation Malfoy was having with the rest of the people in the compartment.

"Who doesn't know what," I asked pulled a piece of metal out of my hair that had been remnant of the firework.

"Weasley not knowing of the Tri Wizard Tournament," Malfoy laughed.

"Oh," I replied not letting out that I didn't know what he was talking about. Whenever I mentioned that I didn't know something about the wizarding world, it spread like a wildfire throughout the house how my muggle upbringing was a disgrace. Not that I thought Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were necessarily Mary Poppins and Bert, but living in the muggle world was not a disgrace.

I listened to their continued speculation on the Tournament and was able to figure out the basics of what was happening. There was to be a large game hosted at Hogwarts at which two other schools, Durmstrang and Beauxbaton, would be attending.

"How much do you want to bet Potter is going to be entering?" I looked up from my book at the mention of my name. Crabbe had just asked the compartment about my brother.

"Not you Potter," he snapped. I rolled my eyes. Why were those two growing more stupid every year?

"My name is Rose," I corrected him.

"You're still a Potter," he mumbled.

"Leave her alone Crabbe," Draco sneered, I was lucky enough that even though there was nothing to be done to stop the entire house of Slytherin from casting disapproving eyes at me, that Draco kept his goons from making life as miserable as they made Harry, Ron, and Hermiones.

Another hour later and we found ourselves stepping off the train. I pulled my cloak hood up and handed Artemis to the steward to take to my bed. Draco and I somehow ended up at the end of the line to get on a carriage. He had tried to pull us through to the front but was only stopped by Hagrid who insisted that he go to the back of the line. I decided to go to the back with him knowing that he would only be even more miserable to be forced onto a carriage with a random second year. To make matters worse it was still down pouring.

"You know, I really hate this school." He plopped down on the seat of the carriage with a pout similar to a child. I sat down calmly across from him with a smirk.

"It's not so bad if you don't cause a commotion every few minutes."

"Who are you to talk, you've almost gotten yourself killed every year?" I squinted my eyes at him. He had a point but I didn't like his bringing it up. "You should enter the Tournament this year, don't want to ruin your reputation." I rolled my eyes this time and remembered the chain that he had given me nearly a week earlier. I held it out to him. He shook his head.

"With your luck you're going to need it, yeah?" He cracked a bit of a smile and nodded to me to put it back on.

It was a great relief when we finally reached the interior of the castle. Nearly every fireplace we passed along the way to the great hall was lit to warm the cold and drenched students who walked in.

"Rose," I heard an excited voice call from the Slytherin table. I looked and found Tracey Davis waving to me along with Daphne Greengrass across from her smiling politely in my direction. Tracey jumped up from her seat and waited for me to near her. She threw her arms around my back. I patted her back kindly, I was not at all accustomed to physical contact despite our friendship since first year. She pulled me down next to her so that Blaise was across from me and Daphne was next to him and still across from Tracey. Draco took a seat next to me.

Tracey excitedly went on asking about my summer and telling me of the trip her family took to the Alps, Tracey was one of the very few muggles that were in Slytherin. Her family of course was still wealthy and well respected in the muggle world, and she did not for one moment let the comments on her bloodline bother her. Instead she would spit back in their face that she had royal blood, and that if they dared touch her they would be thrown in prison which was kept watch by the queens guard. Most people in Slytherin were pureblood and of course had no idea what she was talking about but understood prison and queen and backed off.

The first years came through the hall and were all sorted; a few more joined Slytherin which earned our applause. The sorting hat had given them a new song for the year. Next, Dumbledoore walked up to the podium to give a speech.

"Well now that we are all settled in and sorted," he began his speech, "I'd like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests as well. You see Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event, the Triwizard Tournament." I could see Fred and Georges heads perk up from across the hall. They slapped hands together and started bragging about that they would most definitely be entering. "For those of you who do not know, the Triwizard Tournament brings together wizards from three schools for a series of magical contests. For each school a single student is selected to compete. To let me be clear, if chosen you stand alone. Trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint hearted. Now please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbaton Academy of magic and their headmistress Madam Maxime!" The hall doors squeeekd open at the close of his sentence and a large crowd of girls scurried into the room dressed in baby blue dresses and blue caps. Their blue heels clicked delicately across the stone.

They danced and sashayed down the aisle as one younger girl flipped and cartwheeled her way down until she met up with one of the older dancers and their giant head mistress joined up with them. The woman was nearly as tall as the doors to the hall and she was dressed in all red fur. I never thought I would meet a person larger than Hagrid but I was surely mistaken. Blaise was eyeing these young women, they were all very finely dressed and took well care of themselves. If it wasn't against his nature, I could have seen him drooling.

"And now, for our friends from the north, please great the proud sons of Durmstrang and their High Master Igor Karkaroff." The doors opened again and a herd of sturdy boys marched in rotating long thick poles that sparked as they slammed them against the ground. Their quick, strong pace was much sturdier than the airy girls had been. The young men dropped their sticks purposefully and either ran or flipped to the front of the hall showing off Karkaroff and the world-renowned seeker, Victor Krum. A phoenix made of fire flew throughout the hall and ended at Dumbledoore's feet, a greeting from Durmstrang I presumed in honor of Dumbledoore. He held his hands open at the offering, his eyes bright with amusement.

"Alboos," a thick Northern European accent could be heard from where I sat as High Master Karkaroff gave Dumbledoore a sturdy hug. The later walked up to the podium again and smiled to us again.

"I have two words for you," he gave a moment for thought, "tuck in." The feast was spread across the tables as normal and as tradition Crabbe and Goyle were the first to through food on their plates. I looked up to the table where the teachers all sat and noticed that there was no one sitting in place of the defense against the dark arts potions but then guessed that perhaps one of the new head masters would take on the role. I glimpsed at Professor Snape who as usual was not eating and instead was just staring out into the sea of students looking to give out detentions even though lessons hadn't even started. We ate our fill and caught up with each other from our summer adventures and jumped back into our customary quarrels. Some of Hogwarts was good and some was down right torture.

As we were close to finishing our meals, four men escorted a tower about the size of Hagrid into the Great Hall upon a wooden pallet. The object was very well decorated as if it were constructed of gold trimmings on fine white granite. After another fifteen minutes when most were finished with their meals, we were forced to give our attention back to Dumbledoore for a change.

"Your attention please!" The hall quieted down and all students turned their heads to watch what Dumbledoore had to say. "I'd like to say a few words. Eternal glory! That is what awaits the student who wins the Triwizard Tournament, but to do that this student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks. For this reason the ministry has seemed fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this we have the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mister Bartemis Crouch-" a clash of lightning from the ceiling cut off our Head Master and rang thunder throughout the hall. A few people started to shriek starting within the first year students. I frowned as Draco started to panic next to me. Bravery had never been his thing and it never would be.

A burst of swirling light caught everyones attention from a side door near where the teachers all sat. A silhouette of a large man could only be seen at first until the hall decided to return to normal and reveal the intriguing character. The man stood with one metal leg, on robotic eyeball and several indents in his face that indicated a slash wound that had healed oddly. Many students started to mutter amongst themselves. Part of me wondered if the sudden outburst from the ceiling had been a defense that the school had been demonstrating against the stranger.

"Alistair Moody," Draco whispered to me, his breath was still off from his fright.

"Who?"

"An auror, ex-auror. Went a little mad from his work, not the type of man to get friendly with," Tracey informed me from my right. She may not be the brightest bulb in the box but she knew everyone and what they were worth. I looked back up to the table where the teachers were and saw that they all were even staring at the man with looks of discomfort. I looked back to Moody and nearly jumped when I found his robotic eye to be staring straight at me. Dumbledoore greeted him kindly then offered him to sit down at the teachers table. He was our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"After due consideration, the Ministry has concluded that for their own safety no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name in for the Triwizard Tournament," before he could finish students began to rebel against him, starting with Fred and George of course who actually took to picking up the mashed potatoes and attempting to throw them. Thankfully all of the food in the hall was charmed so that it couldn't be thrown on purpose. "This decision is final." Crouch was now overcome by the loads of student screaming on top of him to the point that Dumbledoor had to step in.

"Silence!" His yell was louder than any I had heard in my time at Hogwarts. The students dulled their screams to murmurs and now watched with remorse as Dumbldoore held his wand up to the tower that the men had brought in shortly before. As he dragged down his wand the beautiful stonework melted to reveal a simple large goblet made of stone. After a moment, a brilliant blue fire erupted from the top. "The goblet of fire, anyone wishing to submit themselves into the tournament need only write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly," he warned, "if chosen there's no turning back. As of this moment, the Triwizard tournament has begun." Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle all gushed about how they could possibly get their name into the goblet without getting caught. We were now allowed to leave the hall as we wished and I happily made my way down to the dungeon where I could find some rare privacy.

Artemis was waiting for me on my bed lined with green silk comforters. Her blotchy black and white fur already leaving a trail on the fresh bed.

"Bad kitty," I kissed the top of her head and placed her in my lap and sat back against my headboard. I thrived there, in the darkness of the dungeon hearing nothing but the euphoric sound of silence and the rumble of Artemis' purr. I knew that over the next few months the school would be even more chaotic than usual with the additions of the several extra students it earned and the excitement of the games. The last thing that either my brother or I needed was extra chaos while we were at Hogwarts.

"Let the games begin," I muttered to myself and blew out the single candle next to my bed.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed, the next chapter will be out by Saturday maybe sooner. Criticism is welcome it is how I learn as a writer.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hi everyone! I know I haven't posted anything at all in a long while, but here this is. I am probably going to go back to the tri-wizard tournament later and change it to fit the books better, there was a bit with Draco in the forest that I totally forgot about that I think would fit this fic a bit better. :) that might not be until later though. Happy reading!

Chapter 5

The first few days of classes were typically the easiest in my prior experience, however this year seemed to prove the opposite. The entirety of fourth years received such a heavy load that even some of the highest grade students seemed overwhelmed. The only thing that seemed to keep our spirits up was the excitement over the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Slytherin and Gryffindor had their first class on Thursday, the entire week leading up was full of excitement. Not only were other schoolmates telling exciting tales of the less traditional teacher, but there was also the excitement over the picking of the TriWizard Champions.

I woke up on Thursday with a larger sense of curiosity rather than excitement. Professor Moody brought about the kind of attention that thrilled the trouble making students of the school who were enthused by the prospect of everything potentially mysterious and dangerous, for example my brother. Yet when I saw him, I saw a deeply disturbed man who probably shouldn't be working with children. I wanted to see exactly what Dumbledoore saw in him that made him the man to work with an entire school of children.

All Draco seemed to talk about all morning was how excited he was for our class in the afternoon. It seemed out of character for the Slytherin house to actually be excited for a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Usually the majority of the house and their parents saw the class as a waste of school time, since most of Slytherin and their parents viewed Dark Arts in a better light than the rest of the school typically.

"Move it Potter," Draco called behind him as he practically dragged me down the hall. He turned around when he heard me huff and grabbed my hand to pull me quicker. I barely had a bite to eat at lunch since he wanted to leave early so that we could get good seats in class. I shuffled to keep up with his fast pace. By the time we reached the third floor I was slightly out of breath and flustered. Pansy turned around from talking to Crabbe and Goyle and started to smile at Draco then let it transform into a sneer directed at our clutched hands. I let go immediately. In my head I begged mercy for any poor Gryffindor she decided to punish later for it. Hopefully my brother would steer clear.

"Air too hot for you up here, or are your cheeks just living up to your name," I heard my brothers voice quirk from a few feet ahead of us. I flushed suddenly realizing that my cheeks had grown a little tender. Luckily no one in my group had heard their accusation and taken notice. Ron and Harry were snickering away. I slowly dragged my finger along my neck at Harry to hush them up.

The door swung open and everyone swarmed to get into the classroom as quickly as possible. Crabbe pushed me forward when I wasn't moving quick enough. I sighed heavily and heard someone else sigh along with me. I turned my head and found Blaise turning his head to meet mine. We both seemed somewhat unimpressed with the excitement. I could see Harry and Ron pushing through the people to get to the front. When I turned my head, I could then see Draco pushing his way through people to also get to the front.

"Sometimes I wonder if we were supposed to be twins Blaise." I muttered under my breath as I walked toward the seats near Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. He lifted and eyebrow at me then raised his hand close to mine.

"Sometimes I wonder if you are color blind." We both scoffed and sat down behind the clan of clowns. The entire room was practically bouncing with excitement. Slytherins and Gryffindors seemed to have more in common than anyone would like to admit. Just the clunk of a hard boot was enough to silence the entire room. The uneven thump of the professors footsteps could be heard hobbling toward the room from his office. When the door opened every student seemed to stop breathing. I even found myself losing a slip of breath as his magical eye bore into me. His eye was transfixed on me as his normal eye looked out at the rest of the class. I resumed breath as he started to limp down the short flight of stairs.

When he reached the bottom, I could see his eye glance my way again before he turned to his desk to place down a jar he had carried down with him. A low grumble caused many of the transfixed students to hastily move.

"You can put those away, those books. You won't be needing them." He fell back into his chair as all the students shoved their books back into their backpacks. He performed a quick roll call, then went on to describe the course work for the year. As he attempted to lecture us about how misinformed we had been about dark curses, I couldn't help but feel that this man wasn't rightly equipped to teach children. Something about him didn't seem right to me. Draco seemed to think the opposite.

"Finally a teacher who knows what he's talking about," Draco commented as Moody was finishing up his rant on how we were not educated enough on curses.

"So… do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?" Moody selected Ron from the large number of raised hands in the room.

"Er, my dad told me about one… Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?"

"Ah yes, your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry quite a bit of trouble few years back." Moody pulled the glass jar he had brought down with him to himself and stood to his feet. Every student grew and extra four inches as he reached his hand into the jar to pull out whatever was inside. He pulled out his wand and pointed to the object in his hand, "Engorgio!" The spider, which I now realized it was, grew to the size of a loaf of bread. I could hear a few people around the room squeal, the loudest being Ron. The spider tried to move about but Moody quickly reacted, "Imperio!"

He had the spider doing tricks; cartwheels, tap-dancing, you name it the class only laughed louder the longer it lasted, until his voice came in again that stopped many students from their laughter instantly. "Think it's funny, do you?" his voice reminded me of a mountain lion mimicking an old man. "What should I make him do next? Jump out the window?" The spider flew over to the window, "or perhaps he should drown himself?" The spider then dangled over a cup of water. The entirety of the class sat with solemn faces. "Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse. Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will." I glimpsed to Draco and found his lips to be pursed tight, a look that came upon his mothers face often in times when the press would ask her questions.

"Another one," he asked the class and let the spider recover on the table. Half the amount of hands from the time before were raised. Three of the quickest were from Hermione, Neville, and Crabbe. One earned their knowledge from books, and the other two from two different ends of the experience. Only one surprised me from the three, and it must have surprised Moody as well since Neville was the one that he chose.

"Yes?" Moody seemed a bit more curious and docile than what seemed natural for him.

"Well, there is one," Neville paused for a moment before continuing, "the Cruciatus Curse." Moody nodded gently, as gently as he could I suppose.

"Your name's Longbottom, correct?" He snapped. Neville nodded shyly. Moody's eye stayed on Neville as he walked back to the front of the classroom to where the spider was laying on the desk. Moody pulled out his wand. I felt a bit of a wave of panic. As shifted in my seat, Moody's eye snapped onto me, making me even more uncomfortable. "Crucio!"

The spider contorted in every manner that would suggest that it was in pain, it even let out a high pitched wail of sorts that made your skin crawl with knowledge that under no circumstance besides this would this creature make such a noise. I couldn't help but let my pity for the creature hit my face. Then a new pity hit me as I noticed the spider wasn't the only one in pain.

"Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him!" Hermione almost yelled. Neville sat in his seats looking sick. I was almost certain that his parchment paper had a tanner complexion than he did in that moment. The spider collapsed exhausted as the curse was released but the aftereffects of it could still be seen on both the spider and Neville. I saw Crabbe and Goyle snicker to each other and tried to keep the bile in my throat down.

"Right then… and who can provide us with the last curse." His magical eye was wondering over to Hermione as her hand slowly crept up. Sometimes I was amazed at how idiotic she could be when it came to understanding appropriateness.

"Yes," his question was low and daring.

"Avada Kedavera," Hermione whispered.

"The killing curse," Moody responded with a dangerous tone. Most of the students in the room shifted uneasily. He turned to where the spider was now laying still recovery and howled out the words with such hatred that I would have thought the spider had bitten his finger off, "Avada Kedavera!" A cold shudder ran up my spine and stole my breath as a flash of green brought about a halt to the spiders life. I stared at the limp spider with a realization that this was exactly what had caused the death of my parents. This is what I had read about in the journals of that night.

"Not nice," Moody's voice brought me back. "Not pleasant. And there's no counter curse. There's no blocking it." Moody's magical eye swiveled around to me and rolled to the back of his head as he turned to my brother. "Only two known persons have survived it, and they're sitting in this room." I could feel all of the eyes fall onto my brother and I. His eyes widened as he realized what Moody had just said. I faced myself forward with force, insulted by the unwanted attention that the professor had placed upon the two of us.

"Now, these three curses – Avada Kedavera, Imperius, and Cruciatus – are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills and copy this…" I didn't listen to what he was saying, I was cooped up inside of my head imagining the many people I had heard received the fate of the curses we had just been shown. The Malfoys had told me of how the Longbottoms had been tortured with the cruciatus curse until they were so mentally impaired that they have permanent rooms in St. Mungo's and that Neville has to live with his grandmother because of it. I couldn't even fathom how much pain it would be like to be brought to that. I thought of my own parents, how they had been murdered. Was their death as quiet and swift as that of the spider? I had a hope that it was and that they were not subject to the torture Alice and Frank Longbottom endured.

"Here, doll," Blaise was holding out a quill to me. He seemed to notice my distraction. I took it with a smile and copied down what had been written on the board.

"Dismissed," Moody grumbled as the bell chimed. I packed up my bag and made for the door happy to be leaving the class.

"Miss Potter," the gruff and harsh voice sent heat up my body. I turned around and found Professor Moody signaling for me to come up to the front to see him. I pulled myself together and walked up front with my head held highly. I tried telling myself to relax a bit since my jaw was already starting to throb a bit from clenching down so hard. He waited for the rest of the students to clear out before he addressed me. "Not everyday you come across a witch with a anti-hex charmed chain is it?" My eyes widened a bit and my heart rate picked up, I had completely forgotten that the chain was in my pocket.

"I don't know what you're referring to sir," I sucked at the inside of my cheeks a bit. He stared straight into my eyes with such an animalistic gaze I felt the need to take a step back.

"I think…" he flicked his gaze down to my pocket then back at me, "you do." We stared each other down for a moment. He held out his hand expectantly. I took a deep breath and pulled it out of my robe. If he knew I had an anti-hex chain, would he know that I had known about the attack at the World Cup? He picked up one end of the chain so that it dangled in a straight line. We both looked at it for a moment before turning our attention back toward each other. I saw him fishing for something in his pocket but didn't pull my eyes away from him. Finally he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the chain. I fully expected him to destroy it right in front of my face, but instead he started to mumble a few words that I didn't recognize. I watched him confused and started to figure out that he was adding more charms to the necklace.

After he finished he put his wand away and let the chain drop into his other palm again. He made a circular motion with his finger for me to turn around. I faced away from him as he swung the chain over my head. I moved my hair from the side and then turned around again to face him once he had secured the chain around my neck.

"I added a few extra, your average anti-hex charms don't usually come equipped with everything that you'll run into." He nodded his head sharply and flicked his tongue I presumed to moisten his lips. "Constant vigilance!"

A/N: I already have quite a bit of the next chapter done, so it theoretically shouldn't take me long to finish. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If anyone has any feedback on my writing I'd be happy to hear it in whatever way is most convenient for you (review or PM). Best Wishes! -Rosey


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey guys! This chapter is definitely going to be rewritten later on, I'm just angry with it right now and need to move on haha I had about eight word documents labeled chapter 6 on my laptop and this was the best one out of the several haha.

Chapter 6

I didn't even bother to thank him for the creepy gift but instead turned and left the room quickly. There was something so entirely wrong with the situation that I felt as if I hadn't woken up from my dream the night before. I frowned when I was finally out of the room and hurried off to the library where I had my free period.

The library wasn't as busy as normal since it was only the beginning of the year and not many students felt the need to work on their studies yet. I was thankful when I noticed that the only people in the library were a few sixth years and a new first year that I presumed was a muggle-born excited to learn about the new world. I wandered over to the news clipping section and scurried through the newspaper articles until I found what I was looking for. Several different publications had been printed all with the same photo. My mother and father were smiling happily while holding both my brother and I. In the picture you could see how much my smile and eyes looked like my fathers, the rest of me looked entirely like my mother, except my hair which hadn't come in entirely yet. My brother was every bit the image of our father, the only bit he had from our mother was his eyes. I quickly pulled out the articles and stuck them into my bag before anyone could see what I took.

I headed out of the library with the clipping and went straight for my room, hoping to find it empty but found Pansy lying in the bed.

"Came to hide yourself from the humiliation Potter?" I rolled my eyes and took out my books from class and shoved them into my trunk. Luckily I did this often enough, switching out my books, that she didn't find it odd that I had done this. I pulled out my books for my last class of the day, which was potions and sat down on my bed to read the text we would be using for the day. Pansy, I could tell from the way she kept glancing up at me, was scribbling in her notebook most likely of either her and Draco or something nasty about me. I knew this from snooping through her diary over the years and picking up on her patterns. I leaned forward and pulled the curtains shut to block her out.

I tried to concentrate on the reading but found myself wandering off to another time. Harry had told me the year before about how he believed had heard our mothers scream from the night of her death. I couldn't decide if I would like to know that sound or not. One part wanted to know what her voice could have sounded like, it could let me imagine how it would feel to hear her whisper sweet words. The other part of me felt like it would be a terror to remember anything that involved that night. A knock at the door snapped me out of my thoughts. I listened as Pansy opened the door.

"Draco just wanted me to come and get Rose, we are all going down to watch Cassius put his name in," Crabbe said from the doorway. I poked my head out of the curtain and smirked at Pansy. Even though I wasn't interested in Draco, and neither him, me, I still found joy in causing Pansy a bit of trouble. I guess my brother and I both had a side for mischief, just in our own ways.

We all ran down to the great hall where the blue flames of the goblet gave the hall a gloomy tint. Right as we were about to enter, I saw to old men running from the room hitting and kicking each other while dressed in Gryffindor clothing. I watched the boys running off and couldn't help but think of how much they reminded me of what the Weasley twins would grow up to look like. I shook my head and caught up with the group.

"We have to have a Slytherin champion. It's only fitting that the purest house represents us to the world," Draco started to rant.

"The cup will pick who's the most fitting to represent our school, if it picks a Ravenclaw, then it picks a Ravenclaw." Draco gave me a disapproving looking. "Pout all you want but you would be a fool to say that there aren't other powerful witches and wizards in this school."

"So if Angeline Johnson were picked you would think she would be an appropriate match," Draco accused.

"It doesn't matter what I think, it matters what the goblet thinks." Draco shoved me a bit, playfully, knowing that I would have answered that differently had we been alone, out of ear of other Slytherin. I smirked and we both continued into the hall. I saw Harry laughing with Ron in the corner. Hermione seemed to be rolling her eyes at something, but I just continued with the rest of Slytherin who were all cheering on Cassius. I even gave him a round of applause when the goblet let out a flicker of its flame, accepting the piece of paper with his name on it.

"We need to figure out how to get our names in that goblet," Draco sighed watching the other students applaud for Cassius. I shook my head with a solid no. I had no interest in watching people who were barely adults nearly die to earn some glory.

"You don't think that I could take on a few obstacle courses," he boasted with his head high.

"You probably couldn't take on a ferret, what makes you think you could beat one of the hardest, deadliest, challenges in the wizarding world?" He was about to refute when a heavy hand came down on my shoulder. I jumped and turned around expecting Hagrid but instead found Moody standing there with a skeptical look.

"A ferret eh, an appropriate match for Mr. Malfoy," he was looking at me with his good eye while the light blue metallic one grazed the group of kids. "Haven't seen Longbottom have ya?"

"He's probably in the green house." I wanted to shrug his hand off my shoulder more than anything in the world but didn't want to insult a professor. Draco didn't seem to take any notice to his hand but seemed frustrated from the comment about the ferret. Moody let out a grumble of shorts before limping off quickly out of the hall.

"That man has no right to be teaching at this school. His behavior is hardly appropriate, he probably lost a chunk of his brain along with that eye," Draco spat out. I nodded in agreement for once with his hated comments. We watched a few more students fail at attempting to put their name in even though they were underage; the result was them being sent to the hospital wing.

After my final class of the day which was charms, I headed down to the dungeon where Snape's office was located. He had informed me previously in the week that I would be allowed to report to him after the last class would finish out on Thursday unless he was holding detentions that day which wasn't often since he preferred to give detentions on weekends. Luckily I had never had the need for detentions beside that one time in first year. I knocked on the door and stood waiting. The door swiftly opened and he stood to the side to allow me to come in. I sat down in the chair that I usually sat in during our lessons.

"What seems to be the problem Ms. Potter," he had his face buried in some papers that he seemed to already be grading. I had thought of how to formulate an explanation to him before, I always plan everything in advance, but now that I was sitting in the room about to confront him I wasn't sure of how to continue.

After I didn't speak for some time while I was trying to put together a description of my problem he snapped his head up giving me a cold beady look. I always took it as a dare whenever he presented me with that look and typically I would reciprocate it but today I was not feeling as daring.

"I have been having dreams," I quietly spoke fearing to go further into it and have him respond that it was nothing to worry about and that I had been worrying myself sick for not, or confirm to me that my dreams were some sort of heed that I needed to take.

"A common symptom of dreaming," he seemed annoyed. "If you wish to reminisce over ridiculous superstition I would advise you to take your concerns to Trelawney." I was fiddling with the sleeve of my robe, I knew I had to tell someone of what I was dreaming and I couldn't risk the dreams being true and confiding in Madam Trelawney not to make a spectacle of it.

"They aren't the same as dreams though, they seem more like… memories," I paused thinking over my next sentence. "However, they aren't my memories. It's like I'm in someone else's head." At this Snape's expression seem to change to his calm demeanor, I could tell that I had caught his attention. "In his head." He stared at me for a long while then leaned back in his chair.

"Have you told anyone else of this," he finally spoke.

"My brother, he had one as well this past summer." He nodded and stood up to walk around the room.

"Do not speak of this to anyone, I will look into it. In the meantime," he opened up a storage closet he had in the corner and pulled out a medium vial that had a dark grey substance in it, "you can take this if you do not wish to dream in your sleep anymore." I took the vial from his hand and placed it in my pocket inside my robe and reached for the door. He quickly shut it as soon as I opened it.

"And make sure that your fool of a brother does not open his mouth to anyone but myself or Dumbledoore," he said this with such vice that I almost winced. I meekly nodded and left the room without another word. His mood seemed fouler than normal which made me feel that there was even more going on that I did not know about. This year did not seem to be any less exciting than my previous years.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed and have a lovely Thanksgiving (if you're from the US) and if not just have a lovely week!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

* * *

I had no dreams as I slept that night. I woke up the next morning to the sound of the other girls getting up and ready instead to the pain that I had been waking up to every morning in my back. I sighed in relief and put on my uniform feeling relieved. I felt at ease knowing that a simple dream deflecting draught could solve the problem, and if a dream deflecting draught was solving the problem that had to mean that the dreams were in fact just that, and not some sort of insight into something that was happening outside of my dreams.

My classes went by without event that day. When walking through the hallways I could occasionally hear people making comments about Moody's class. A few people were talking about the scene he had made regarding my brother and I. I ignored the comments and pretended not to have heard their comments when they quickly shut their mouths as I passed.

After I finished my homework for the day, I waited for everyone to go to dinner then snuck up to the girls chambers. I locked the door behind me to make sure Pansy or one of the other girls didn't come running in having forgotten something. I pulled out the papers I had found on my parents death and shoved them into a portfolio that I then stuck into the folds of my robe.

There was one part of the castle that I had discovered the year before using the map that I stole from Harry for a short while that I loved to go to when I needed privacy. No one seemed to visit it too often and there were only two ways to get to it and both ways were hidden passageways that didn't seem to get much attention besides perhaps a house elf on occasion to clean up the portraits that led to the tunnels. I wandered up out of the dungeon up to the library and headed to the back section of the second balcony where books on medevil muggle history were kept. There was a portrait of Cordelia Cavenshire, she was shown sitting at a desk that was placed in a lilac garden. Cordelia was a witch back in the late tenth century who was killed for helping the Tudor family get power over the throne. She had been said to have seen a vision that a French witch and a son from the house of Tudor would come to create one of the most revolutionary queens throughout history, which ended up to be true and granted England with the fiery character of Elizabeth I. Cordelia had been known to predict the birth of some of the most famous and respected witches and muggle women throughout history.

I made sure that no one was around, and since it was dinnertime there were few people lingering in the library. She looked up from her book at me then set it down gently on her table. Just like the Ravenclaw tower, you had to solve a riddle in order to get into the passageway, only these riddles were much more intricate. I expected this entrance was meant for professors or perhaps staff so the riddles were meant to be answered by adults. Cordelia had been known for her extensive beauty and intelligence. She stood and glided just a few steps and smiled at me with a sweet yet stern motherly grin.

"What brings you here so early this year?"

"I am researching some more recent history, my lady," I answered respectfully. She simply nodded her head once then stared at me with thoughtfulness; I could tell she was thinking of the right one to give me.

"Many have heard me, but no one has seen me, and I will not speak back until spoken to, who am I?" She stared at me for a long while.

"An echo," I said. The answer was so simple I had taken a double take at what she asked me just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. She nodded her head then swung open for me to enter.

"You're losing your touch Cordelia," I looked behind me before she shut.

"You only answered correctly. That doesn't mean that you comprehended," she shut and I continued on. Her riddles were always more complex than I could interpret, on some occasions I would have to think about the answer for a while before I could come back and answer it.

I continued through the passage which brought me up several flights of stairs. I was more than winded by the time I reached the top of the last landing. I opened the dusty wooden door and came into a small room that I believe was once used as a storage room, but sufficed as a study room for me to sit and think when I needed it. I lit a lantern that I had brought up and left two years back when I first discovered the room.

" _Tergeo_ ," I used the incantation to wipe off dust from the desk that was a little lop sided and to clear more dust off of the wooden chair that hadn't been used in a few months. The dust flew off the sides off the sides of each piece of furniture and settled into a piled on the floor in the corner of the room. I pulled the folder out of the fold of my robe and placed it on the table in front of me then sat down shakily. Part of me wondered if I should be looking into this, however I pushed the thought from my head and told myself that it was a perfectly normal thing for a young teenager to be curious about their parents.

I took a deep breath and opened up the folder to find the first article I had pulled out from the library. There was a picture of a torn up house that was placed on the front cover that caught my attention first then I saw the caption, _YOU-KNOW-WHO DEAD, POTTER TWINS SURVIVE_. The article didn't have much more information than I had already heard of, it gave a brief and confused description of how Voldermort had seemed to disappear yet my parents remained dead within the house. Then went on to describe how we had been found in a single cradle, my brother bearing some sort of disfigurement. The article glorified how pure the situation was was that the two survivors one of the darkest wizards of all time were innocent infants.

The next article was solely on the events regarding Sirius and his supposed 'betrayal' of my parents to the Dark Lord. I skipped that one noticing that there was nothing worth looking into in the article. The next one I picked up made me smile at the photo. It was a picture of my mother and my father, one that must have been from their graduation from Hogwarts. They were both dressed in ceremonial caps and their house robes. My mother was holding her hand up to the camera showing a simple diamond ring that must have symbolized their engagement. The article was more so an obituary for my parents and other members who died from the late events of what happened including Peter Pettigrew. There were quotes from many people talking of how sweet and smart my mother was and quotes from others talking about how determined they both were to keep our lives their first priority even though they themselves were only barely adults themselves.

I felt myself started to feel frustrated, I didn't know what I was looking for, but I knew there was something more to what the articles were informing the public of. The sweet words of my parents or dug salt into the wound. I shut the folder angrily. I bit at the inside of my lips as I tried to control my emotions that were running amuck. I packed up the folder and planned to return the articles I read and the rest that I didn't, I had a feeling that I wasn't going to find what I needed from the articles, I was going to need to talk to someone that really knew what had happened that night and why we had survived.

I got up from the desk after I collected my thoughts and picked the lantern up to turn the small flame out. I picked it up and brought it to my eye level so see the nob for the gas in it. The lantern had always been troublesome to turn off, I fiddled with it for a few seconds before a quick puff of air shot the flame out sending me into darkness. I dropped the lantern in surprise and whipped my wand out.

"Lumous!" My wand illuminated the pitch black room and the distorted face that held a crooked nose only a few inches behind the tip of my wand.

Professor Moody and I stared at each other for a few seconds before he bent down with a grunt and picked up the lantern relighting it. I let go of the spell and put my wand back into my robe. I knew that it wasn't past the curfew for using the astronomy tower, yet I still felt like a disobedient child standing there caught for the first time.

"Interesting little room isn't it," Professor Moody stared at me with his normal eye while his electric blue one darted about the room.

"Yes sir," I tried to keep a steady tone.

"How long have you been sneaking up here for," he asked staring intently at me.

"Only about an hour sir," I lied but kept by breathing steady and folded my hands in front of my body. I could tell he didn't buy the fib but he broke his gaze from me to look around with his real eye now as well.

"Looks a bit different from the way it did when I was a boy," his tone was different. He didn't sound like a crazy traumatized man like he had the past few days. There was a long silence as he looked more into the details of the room.

"You used this room sir?" My voice must have broken him from whatever memories he was reliving and he looked back in my face.

"You should always know every possible way that your attackers could come at you from, speaking of which was why I was able to startle you so easily! Constant vigilance Ms. Potter," he turned on his metal leg and headed toward the exit. I followed ready to leave anyway. He placed the lantern on the hook it came from then looked back at me. I stopped and watched as he pointed to an end table beneath the hook for the lantern and pulled out a little screw that he then stuck onto the nob of the lantern and turned it so that the flame went out. We both relit our wands to compensate for the lack of the flame. He turned to leave and I quickly grabbed the folder from the desk and put it back into my robe hoping that he somehow had missed it.

We walked silently down the stairs; well, he hobbled more than walked. I had to admit for a man of his age and with such a disability he surely had a fast enough pace that I had to put a little extra effort into my movements. When we reached the bottom of the third landing I noticed that he slowed down his pace for a few seconds. I could see sweat dripping down the sides of his faces. He grunted then leaned against the wall seemingly incapable of continuing.

"Would you like me to go fetch Madam Pomfrey, Professor," I asked becoming worried as he started wheezing.

"N…No," he coughed out and reached into his coat pocket, he was coughing so hard that it made his voice start to sound different. He knocked back a vial of what I assumed was either water or some sort of medical potion he needed. I watched with a bit of worry, if he passed out or died it would look awfully suspicious if I somehow managed to carry him out of an unknown passage way. After a few moments he calmed down and with a shake of his head he stood up straight again and motioned with his wand to continue walking.

"Dust does a nasty thing to the lungs," he cleared his throat sounding normal again. I nodded in agreement and continued on. We cleared the last flight of stairs and walked down the corridor. There was only a little bit left until I could flee from his presence and return the clippings in the library.

We reached the portrait and I felt myself breath out in relief upon seeing Cordelia smiling at me standing up getting ready to allow us passage.

"Hold on a second Cordelia," Moody stopped her from opening up the passage. I looked up to him a little panicked but quickly concealed it.

"I'll return those to their proper place, Ms. Potter," my heart stopped when I noticed his blue eye staring at the exact location that I had my articles hidden within my robes.

"I'm sorry," I pretended for a moment not to understand. He tilted his head in a threatening manner and said nothing. I was stubborn though and didn't give in.

"You know as well as I that what is in those articles is not going to bring you any satisfaction, if you're looking for answers, you're going to have to look for different sides of the story." He held out his hand and my mask fell. I knew what he was suggesting. "If you need to understand a crime, you have to understand the criminal." I refused to meet his gaze as I pulled out the folder and handed it to him. He nodded to Cordelia or opened up the passage for us. He exited immediately, I took just a second to regain my composure then left as well making sure no one had seen us leave. He was already hobbling off out of the library by the time I turned to look to see where he had gone.

I needed to find someone who knew about the side of Voldermort that my brother and his friends didn't. Luckily I was in a house full of students whose parents all knew that side and was best friends with one of his most loyal servants. It wouldn't be easy and it would take a lot of time and convincing but I had a feeling that I could play a good part of a spy.

A couple more weeks went by as we prepared for the Halloween feast, or should I say the night the goblet would pick the three champions. I was only mildly bitter that everyone seemed to forget about my favorite holiday in lieu of the upcoming selection of who had the chance to die this year at school. I tried my best to remain calm, however when I headed down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast I let my stew of hatred for the event come to light.

If I had thought there was too much excitement for Professor Moody's class; the selecting of the student from the Goblet could only be described by pure chaos. I was standing in a hoard of students trying to flush into the Great Hall. Hogwarts was already a large school, with additional students from our two guest hosts only made our large school seem more like a large zoo.

"Christ Rose, you look like your going to kill someone," I snapped my head over to Harry who had somehow weaseled through the thick crowd. Being in crowds bothered me enough, being in a crowd where I was being shoved and touched from every side made my skin literally want to crawl off my body and right into bed with the curtains drawn. "You know, the longer you're in Slytherin the more you start looking like Snape." I realized that I had been scowling the entire time. At first I was a little offended by the comment but his laughter made me crack a smile. Professor Snape did have a habit of having a scowl plastered to his face unless he was sneering.

"The longer you're in Gryffindor the bigger your ego gets," I nudged him slightly then pushed through the crowd violently and plopped down next to Blaise, he even seemed more giddy than his usual poised self. Then again he had ritual of eating pumpkin pasties all day every year on Halloween so he might have just been running a bit of a sugar high. He noticed my bitter mood and offered me one from pocket. I angrily took it and bit into it with ferocity.

"We are going to have a Slytherin champion this year. I know it. I can feel it!" Pansy exclaimed as she sat down with Draco across from me.

"As long as it's not a Gryffindor I will be happy," Draco clapped hands with Crabbe whom I could tell just wanted to get to the feast and eyed my pasty with longsome eyes.

The feast commenced, I looked down the row to where the first years were seated. I loved to watch their reactions at seeing the candy and sweet filled table. As usual when the table popped out candy apples, cinnamon spiced pumpkin juice, and many more delicacies, the children all dropped their jaws and hesitated before digging in. I smiled and pulled a piece of honey bread off a tray for myself, Blaise took another pumpkin pasty.

Typically the conversation on Halloween was about the decorations or the festivities that the school usually had planned, however, this year it was solely on the tournament. I left myself out of the conversation and tried to enjoy my treats. I didn't have a big sweet tooth, but on some occasions I would let myself indulge, and Halloween was definitely one of those occasions.

After the hour was over, the plates cleared themselves off and the hall erupted in sudden chatter to only die off as quickly as it started when Dumbledore stood from his seat and walked up next to the goblet. A part of me secretly hoped that Angelina wouldn't get into the tournament. I had a terrible feeling in my gut about the tournament. What kind of civilized culture found it acceptable to allow such young people to perform such life-threatening tasks.

Dumbledoore walked around from the table where he had eaten next to the headmaster and headmistress from the two other schools and stood next to the goblet.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision. I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions." He waved his wand across the room and all the pumpkins blew out their candles letting the smoke rise from their mouths and eyes. The only light was the eerie, blue flame coming from goblet. Everyone was silent, I was wringing my hands under the table even though I'm sure that my face didn't show anything more than boredom.

The blue hue suddenly turned red, there was a rupture of gasps and a bustle of cloth as people turned to watch a piece of paper burst from the flames and flutter down into Dumbledoore's hand.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum." Applause broke out and the loudest came from Karkaroff who was screaming supportive words in his native tongue as Victor walked through the door he was instructed to.

After the clapping died down everyone turned their attention back to the goblet which was glowing red again. Another piece of paper shot out this time fluttering down a little more gracefully, "The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" Another rush of applause as Fleur giddily stood up from her spot and smiled with graceful success as she too walked through to the chamber. I glimpsed at the rest of her school and found that a few people weren't so graceful with their defeat.

For the third and last time the goblet illuminated with the warm red color and shot out the last ticket. I could feel everyone at the Slytherin table tense up with anticipation, the room was dead silent as the parchment flittered down into Dumbledoore's grap.

"The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!" People applauded but I could tell a lot of people were disappointed. I applauded and watched as some Slytherin slammed their hands down on the table, showing their disapproval. Cedric rose from the table with a giant grin on his face. A few of his classmates patted him on the back as he walked down the aisle and into the room the other two champions left into.

"Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-"

Dumbledoor stopped short and everyone in the hall knew his reasoning. The goblet was once again turning the warm red color it had burned before for the champions. A flame shot up and out of it a flittering piece of parchment fell down into the hands of Dumbledoore. Everyone, including myself, were on the edge of their seats as we tried to figure out what had just happened.

The room was silent as Dumbledoore stared at the piece of parchment and read the name off the paper. It was almost an unbearable amount of time until Dumbledoore cleared his throat and called out.

"Harry and Rose Potter."

* * *

A/N: Well I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; I really enjoyed writing this one. If you have any critiques that you can find for me don't be afraid to let me know, it's always great to get feedback on what I can improve upon if not now at the very least when I come back to edit things. I hope you all enjoy your winter holiday if I don't post by the end of the season and if you do not celebrate enjoy the sales :)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

* * *

I rooted down into my seat and refused to accept that my name had just been called to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Every head in Slytherin turned toward me, some looked across the hall to try to get a glimpse of my brother. I slowly turned my gaze to Draco who was staring at me with a bit of shock. Pansy was sneering at me from next to him.

I turned my attention up to the teachers' table and looked for Snape. He was starring at me with an expression of either worry or confusion. Seeing him in that state let me know that this was as serious as my mind was telling me it was. The sudden realization that I should probably be a bit panicky made me take a sudden angry grasp onto the table. I would not walk past that door; I would not allow people to find entertainment in watching me risk my life.

I looked back up to the teachers' desk and noticed that Professor McGonagall had walked over to Dumbledore and was whispering something feverishly into his ear. Whatever it was she said did not please him. He let himself frown before nodding to her and returning to the crowd of students gaping at my brother and I.

"Harry Potter! Rose Potter!" The sound of his voice made me snap my Slytherin poise back into position. I lifted my chin and fought my fear. "Up here if you please."

I took a shallow breath and stood, which allowed more people to lay their eyes on me but I kept myself grounded. I started to walk up toward the front and noticed that Harry took just a bit longer than I had to get up and out of his seat and stumbled when he did so. I suddenly had that thought that he put my name into it. Anger spruced up in me but I forced myself not to show anything until we were in private. I met him up front near Dumbledore. He had a dazed expression on his face as if he were shocked himself. I looked over to Snape who had regained most of his composure as well, but still also seemed to be confused about the situation.

"Well… through the doors," Dumbledore instructed us. He was not smiling, nor did his tone sound pleased. At this point not only were all of the students staring at the two of us but the professors were as well. We both walked through the door all of the eyes following us as we moved. Once we were inside I let my voice breach.

"Of all the idiotic, foolish things you have done, you go out of your way to not only get yourself into this mess, but also me!" I snapped through my teeth at him with so much anger that my hands were balled into fists.

"I… I didn't put my name in... our names." He had backed away from me the way he did when he knew I was really mad. The portraits on the wall were all staring at us as we passed through and were whispering to each other. Were we ever going to get to have one quiet, studious year?

"Did you-"

"Of course not," I cut him off before he could even ask if I had put our names in. He shut his mouth and glowered at me himself. We walked into the room and found Victor Krum, Cedric Diggory, and Fleur Delacour all standing there; the fire they stood near silhouetting their older more threatening bodies unto the wall behind them. They looked like champions already, and then there was Harry and I; two very young teenagers who probably wouldn't hold up in a duel against any of them for longer than a few minutes.

"Do zey want us to come back or zomething?" Fleur's sturdy voice carried over to Harry and I who only looked at each other not knowing how to tell them we had just become champions with them.

There was a sudden eruption of noise that came from behind where we had walked down the hall. We all turned our attention back and found Dumbledore, Moody, Barty Crouch, and a few other people almost running into the room.

"Harry!" Dumbledore was heading straight for my brother, "Harry," he grabbed him by the shoulder. Harry stumbled back surprised and knocked into a few trophies that were positioned on a table behind him. The scene was pure chaos. "Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire?" Harry was obviously distressed from the sudden burst from Dumbledore that was not typical of his nature.

"No sir!"

"You ask one of the older students to do it for you," Dumbledore was speaking with such determination I knew that this entire ordeal meant something more than just a few kids breaking the rules to him.

"No sir!"

"You're absolutely sure," he almost shook Harry with his concern. Harry was already scrambling as he was held in place by Dumbledore's grasp.

"Yes.. Yes sir," Harry seemed breathless but firm. I believed him finally, he tended to be a bit more remorseful when he was caught in the act of a prank.

"Vell of course ze is lying," Madam Maxim swatted at a lamp hanging from the ceiling that interfered with her large stature. Then positioned her anger towards me.

"And zis one," she pointed a long boney finger into my face, "she is no more innocent zan a znake." I glared at her feeling threatened. She removed her hand from my face and placed a hand on Fleur's shoulder.

"Zese little children are to compete as well," Fleur called out craning her neck to look up at her headmistress.

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr," her voice showed annoyance, yet she tried to comfort her student by patting her hair gently.

"I'd like to know that myself," Karkaroff stormed up to us and held up three fingers to us, " _three_ Hogwarts champions, you might as well of just had your own tournament! I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed to have as many champions as they please!" He let out a sound that sounded like a hog snarling and turned on his feet to pivot away from us then whipped around with force to continue his harsh words. "We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants. Otherwise, we would of course have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

"We don't know the cause of the accident Karkaroff, so don't go blaming Dumbledore for what could be Mr. Potter's determination to break rules," Professor Snape snapped at Karkaroff.

"My brother and I did not put our names in the Goblet of Fire," I snapped for the first time at Professor Snape. Part of this was due to my annoyance from Madame Maxime, the other was due to my disapproval of Snape's treatment of my brother. He looked over at me with shock that I had raised my voice to him. I'm sure that had I been Harry or some other unfortunate Gryffindor I would have been sentenced to the rest of the year on Saturday cauldron cleanup.

"But of course she is lying," Madame Maxime threw her hands up in frustration.

"Like hell she is!" Professor Moody had somehow limped down the stairs without anyone knowing and was now hurriedly hobbling towards us. "The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object, only an exceptionally powerful confundus charm could have hoodwinked it!" Moody was darting his good eye between everyone that was crowded around my brother and I while his bright blue eye looked between my brother and I. "Magic way beyond the talents of a fourth year!" Moody turned his attention to Dumbledore, who in turn was still staring at the two of us with a bit of fear in his expression.

"You seem to have given this a fair bit of though, Mad-Eye!" Karkaroff pushed his chest right into Professor Moody's in an attempt to intimidate him. Moody in turn deepened and lowered his voice so that it was meant for only Karkaroff yet I could still hear him.

"It was once my job to think as dark wizards do Karkaroff, perhaps you remember?"

"This doesn't help Alastor," Dumbledore broke up the scene that could have turned into a fight and approached Barty Crouch who was standing away from the crowd, thinking. "I'll leave this to you Barty."

"The laws are absolute," Mr. Crouch stopped to think over his words, "the Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract. Mr. and Mrs. Potter have no choice, they are as of tonight," Mr. Crouch finally turned around to look at us, "tri-wizard champions." I felt my heart drop at hearing the words.

"Champions in a tournament in which Durmstrang will most certainly not be competing, I have half a mind to leave now!" Karkaroff was fuming and eyed myself and Harry up.

"You can't leave your champion now. He's got to compete. They've all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?" Moody stepped right in front of me to block me off from Karkaroff.

"Convenient?" I heard Karkaroff's agitated voice raise.

"It's very simple Karkaroff. Someone put the Potter's names in that goblet knowing they'd have to compete if it came out." I looked over at Harry who was watching the scene with big eyes.

"Someone 'oo wished to give 'ogwarts two bites at ze apple," Madame Maxime piped in again.

"I agree Madame," Karkaroff walked over to Igor who was quietly watching the situation, "I shall be lodging complaints with the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards-"

"If anyone's got reason to complain, it's these two," I heard Moody growl as he nodded his head behind him towards us.

"Why should 'e complain," Fleur's voice was just as whiny as every, "zis is a chance many would die for!"

"Maybe someone's hoping they are going to die for it." I inched closer to Harry as the room quieted and everyone's eyes fell onto us. I wanted nothing more than to be hugged by my brother at that moment and pretend that I had forgotten to take my potion before bed and was just experiencing a terrible nightmare. "As I said before, someone must have performed an exceptionally powerful confundus charm, and they must have confused the Goblet to not only allow a fourth school to put for a champion but two." There was another pause. I looked to Professor Snape who was no longer staring at me but at Professor Moody, with a sort of suspicion I had seem him use on my brother before when he had been rightfully guilty. Ludo Bagman, the buffoon he was, finally broke the silence in the room.

"Well, shall we crack on with the tournament then? Got to give our champions their instructions haven't we? Want to do the honors Barty?" Bagman nudged Mr. Crouch who seemed to be in another world.

"Yes," he stammered, "instructions. Yes… The first task," he cleared his throat and tried again. "The first task is designed to test your daring." I rolled my entire head with my eyes as I imagined all the terrible things they could be having us do. "So we are not going to tell you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard. It will take place on November the twenty-fourth in front of your peers and a panel of judges. The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to compete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests." Mr. Crouch stopped to think for a moment then turned to Dumbledore. "That's all I think, right Albus?" Dumbledore merely nodded.

Fleur and Victor left as their headmasters guided them away. Bagman excused himself to go to Hogsmeade for a quick drink and Crouch excused himself without much explanation. Only Harry, Cedric and myself were left in the room with our professors. The teachers pulled over to the side to whisper among themselves.

"So, we're playing against each other again!" Cedric smiled suavely to Harry. Harry seemed a bit jostled and I knew that the subject of the Gryffindor – Hufflepuff match from the year before really ruffled him up.

"I s'pose." Cedric laughed to himself trying to lighten the mood. I knew Harry resented him for the loss and for his father's poor behavior, but Cedric had always seemed like a gentle soul to me. After his smile faded off his face and we were just left with an akward silence he tried to pick up conversation again. "So… tell me, how did you get your name in?" He looked at both of us this time.

"We didn't," we both answered at the same time.

"I didn't put it in. I was telling the truth," Harry continued for the both of us.

"Right then," Cedric smirked. I could see Harry tense up next to me; I could only imagine the terrible things he was thinking of doing to Cedric for not believing us.

"You two are both excused," Professor McGonagall acknowledged to us. I misinterpreted the situation and turned to leave.

"No you, Mrs. Potter," she clarified. Harry looked back at me as he left. My heart started to race. Professor McGonagall stared at me and waited until the footsteps of the other two were so far away that they couldn't be heard. I worried that they thought that I really had put our names into the goblet.

"Take a seat, Mrs. Potter," she said kindly. I did so in a chair that was by the fire. Professor Snape, Moody, McGonagall, and Dumbledore all approached me. I tried to maintain my breathing, which had adjusted to my fast heartbeat. I noticed that Moody had been coughing again the way he had that day he caught me in the room by the astronomy tower. The teachers all turned with concern to him while he fidgeted in his large coat looking for the vial again I assumed. He pulled it out and tried to drink from it but there was no liquid left for him to consume.

"You alright, Alastor," Dumbledore asked as Moody startle to hobble out of the room. He merely shook his head 'yes' as he continued coughing all the way out. The rest of us turned our attention back to each other.

"Professor Snape has informed myself and I have informed Professor McGonagall of your current use of a sleeping drought." Dumbledore was extremely calm with me, most likely sensing my tense behavior. I nodded. "I believe that I have a theory that I would like to test with you as to why you are experiencing these odd dreams." I wrung my hands and tried to keep myself from imagining worst case scenarios.

"Have you heard of the art of occlumency," he asked. I remembered coming across it once in a book but I could only vaguely remember what it had to do with.

"Is it a type of mental strengthening," I asked becoming interested in what they were suggesting.

"In a way," he nodded. "It is a way for you to block your mind from the minds of others." I knew what he was thinking and I wasn't sure if I was willing yet to accept what I already knew.

"We believe that learning this will help you to repel your nightmares without the use of the sleeping drought."

"Why would blocking the minds of others from entering my mind help to stop my nightmares." I stopped breathing while I waited for his response.

"There is a chance that your nightmares could be the product of a connection of sorts, a connection in the same way that you feel pain in your scar when you are in the presence of or feel the anger of… _him_." I let out a shaky breath and took a sharp one in.

"I don't want to participate in this tournament," I spat it out so quickly that I didn't have time to control the tone that assisted it. The past thirty minutes had been so thoroughly dreadful that I felt as if I would pass out from the anxiety that resulted from it.

"You have no choice. Control yourself," Snape's monotonous voice reprimanded me. I clenched my jaw shut and sucked on the inside of my cheeks.

"Unfortunatley as we established earlier, the circumstances are magically binding, there are very grave consequences that come with not fulfilling your duties." I paused for a while before nodding. All I wanted to do was scream and wreck the entire room.

"Now, you can work out when you two will have your lessons. You will no longer take sleeping droughts, especially with you entering some serious physical and emotionally challenging events this next year. Sleeping droughts have been known to have some risky consequences on the body while under stress." Dumbledore and McGonagall left the room leaving Snape and I alone, he had regained full composure over himself from before.

"We will meet every Tuesday and Thursday after your dinner meal in my office, you will tell your classmates that I have chosen you to manage and record the stock of the ingredients for the potions classes. We will have a brief lesson now to start so that you may attempt to strengthen yourself without the use of the sleeping drought." He pulled his wand out and with it extinguished every light within the room. The room went black and the only sense I could use to tell where he was, was my hearing.

"Used properly, the power of Occlumency will help shield you from access or influence. In these lessons I will attempt to penetrate your mind. You will attempt to resist. Prepare yourself!" My eyes had adjusted to the dark using the light from the moon outside. I suddenly saw that Snape had his wand pointed in my face, "Legilimens!" _I saw Draco and Pansy together on the train and felt the jealousy that I didn't want to admit._

I couldn't describe to you the sensation that my body felt while this happened, it wasn't pain, but it certainly didn't feel good. _I saw the clear icy blue eyes of Tom Riddle morph out of the boggart that Remus had used thinking I would also be afraid of dementors to teach me to form a patronous and felt the icy fear run through my head down to my toes._ I realized that I wasn't in the room anymore and I suddenly was brought back to old memories, memories that I somehow felt Snape viewing. _I was brought back to just a short while ago when my name was called from the Goblet and I felt again the anger that I felt toward my brother._ As each memory quickly flashed I felt each intense emotion I felt along with it. _I felt a rush of joy suddenly as I saw the memory of visiting Malfoy Mannor for the first time and running around the grounds with Draco._ Instinctively I tried to shut down the memories and bring myself back to the room in which Snape and I were. _I saw a glimpse of a memory of myself and Harry being locked in the closet from the Dursleys but forced the memory away._ I felt pain from fighting it, but somehow I felt that, that was what I was supposed to do. _I felt another memory coming on of the disgust I felt toward Remus upon finding out that he was my Godfather and did nothing to try to take Harry and myself away from the Dursleys. I cut the memory off before it finished and found myself staring at Snape through a distressed face._ Through the memories, I would snap back for a few seconds into the room if I fought it hard enough.

"Control your emotion," I heard Snape's cool instruction through the memories. I kept fighting him, occasionally I could hear my screams and that brought me back to reality. Finally after what seemed like hours but was really only likely five minutes the spell was released and I was permitted to have my thoughts to myself.

I collapsed forward into my hands and breathed as if I was just forced to run ten marathons in a matter of a few minutes. I felt how sweaty my entire body had become from the physical toll the spell took on my body.

"You must focus your mind on how you control your emotion." I could only barely hear him I was so exhausted. "Over time you will learn to build a stronger wall between your mind and the minds of other and will be able to control when this wall is in place or opened to allow others to see false memories." I nodded my head and sat up straight again, I wanted to learn this. I wanted to keep him out of my head in any way possible.

Snape pointed his wand at me again, this time I was able to fight the spell for an entire thirty seconds this time by forcing myself to imagine myself sitting there with a mask decorated in Slytherin colors and my body positioned with the poise of a queen. My wall started to waver and he broke through. I was so drained that I couldn't even find myself within my memories to start to fight back again. The memories that went through this time were less emotional than the ones before, yet still were significant to myself. As I fought back I was able to gain control over my body slowly along with my mind. I wasn't able to fully push him out, I could still feel him digging through my mind but I was able to stop him when he accessed memories that I didn't want him to when I put all the effort I could into it.

An hour later he let me go, he had given me two minute breaks every now and then to allow myself to recuperate. After he broke the spell for the last time he relit the fire that had been roaring an hour ago right in front of me and relit the candles in the room.

"You will practice keeping your emotions stable and trying to clear your mind every night before you sleep. You did well for your first day but do not let that get to your head, this type of magic will not be achieved by pure talent." I nodded and wiped my forehead from the sweat on it. "You are dismissed."

I stood up and nearly fell over, my legs so shaky that they didn't feel real. I walked up the steps and through the hallway. I was still very weak and knew that I wouldn't be able to walk down the stairs again right away, so I went and took a seat on a bench in the courtyard and tried to breathe in some fresh air. I felt a little pull at my heart in a way I didn't like over knowing that all of my memories would be shared with someone other than my brother. Professor Snape had in a strange way been a sort of father figure to me in my years at Hogwarts but he certainly wasn't a man that I felt comfortable opening up my feelings and thoughts with. I couldn't even do that with my best friend, and had a hard time forcing myself to do it with my twin brother. I suppressed my thoughts as I realized I had just allowed myself to violate what I was just instructed to do; control my emotions. I stood from the bench feeling better and made the rest of the trek down to the dungeon to Slytherin.

I approached the stone wall that led to the portrait entrance. As I approached I heard a large amount of chatter, more than usual.

"Viper," I mumbled at the wall and watched it peal away to allow me entrance. The more stones I that moved out of the way, the more wide-eyed faces I saw staring at me. Once the entire wall was moved I took a step past the boundary and found that the entirety of Slytherin had stayed up to wait for me to return. There was a pause before a cheer erupted in the room. Everyone was clapping, save Cassius and his close friends who seemed rather butt hurt, and Pansy who would never acknowledge anything good to deal with me in a million years.

Tracey and Daphne, who had constructed a small crown out of paper and stuck it on my head, pulled me into the room. I tried my best to suppress the annoyance I felt from the attention, controlling my emotions was most definitely going to be more work than I had thought about.

"How'd you do it," one of the younger students came up and asked me through the applause.

"I didn't, I didn't put my name in," I confessed. People only laughed as if I had made a good joke.

"Maybe the Goblet knew you were that good then and wasn't going to let any age restrictive line stop them." Tracey slapped my back and giggled with Daphne. I shook my head disapprovingly.

"I really didn't," I took the hat off and handed it to one of the first year students who was still applauding with her friends right next to me.

"Well it had to of gotten in the Goblet somehow," Pansy sneered.

"Yeah someone else put it in," I snapped.

"It was probably that filthy blood-traitor brother of yours. He's never respected any rules this school has, and you've had to go clean up his mess. He just can't do anything without dragging you into it as well," Draco I suddenly realized hadn't been applauding either. He also seemed to be unpleased with the situation. The crowd started dispersing upon seeing the tension, although I caught more than a few people nodding their heads in agreement as they heard what Draco had said.

I wiggled through the crowd until I could get to the hall to go to the girls dormitory. Once I reached the chambers, I immediately changed into my favorite pair of pajamas that was ironically Dudley's old ripped t-shirt and large sweatpants. I practically fell into bed and was about to fall asleep as soon as I felt my head touch the pillow, however I knew that I was still annoyed from the events of the day and that I needed to clear my mind like Snape had told me. _This type of magic will not be achieved by pure magic._ His voice went through my head as I focused on my breathing and relaxing my troubled mind.

* * *

A/N: I was really inspired by procrastination of my final exams to write this chapter haha. I hope you enjoyed it!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Just a heads up there is a graphic scene that I am using in place of what J.K. Rowling put on the pins the students wore to torment Harry. I thought that fourteen-year-olds now a days usually come up with something a little more vulgar than "Potter Stinks" so heads up, young teen bullying ahead!

Chapter 9

* * *

I woke up the next morning without the cold sweat and racing heart that I had before I started taking the potion. I couldn't remember the dream that I had. The only evidence there was of stopping the draught was a slight ache along my scar. I felt relief fill me that I had slept soundly, until a bit of dread filled me again when I opened my eyes.

My bed was completely decked out in decorations for congratulations on my "success," there were cards thrown all over my bed with drawings of me standing triumphantly with a trophy in my hand, and the crown had somehow ended back on my head. I had somehow forgot I was a TriWizard Champion, and this knowledge ruined any chance I had of having a good day.

I threw everything into a trashcan minus one card a first year I tutored gave me whom I adored. Tracey cracked an eye open from all the noise and grumbled some comment about how Scrooge-like I was. I settled the comment by dumping the trashcans content into her bed and leaving the room for breakfast.

"Hey!" I could hear her grumbling at me as I shut the door behind me, leaving.

I walked out to the common room where Draco was watching some fish swimming by the window.

"Morning," I said walking up next to him looking at the fish myself.

"Good morning," he looked over at me. "Want to go get some breakfast?" Before I could answer this my stomach let out a growl, I felt my face turn hot red with the embarrassment.

"Excuse me," I apologized while he laughed.

"Need to stock up if your going to be in this tournament, no matter how you got in."

"Don't talk about the tournament," I grumbled walked together with Draco up to the Great Hall.

I sat down and pulled a piece of black pudding onto my plate along with two poached eggs and a serving of beans. I had a larger appetite than usual despite my foul mood. I was just thankful that the hall was practically empty since I was one of the few students who woke up early on Sundays.

I was finishing up as more students started to enter. If they were Gryffindor, they would blatantly boo at me or start some ridiculous chant they made up for Harry. Fred and George even joined in on this when they came in. If they were from Hufflepuff they only gave me a bit of a dirty look which took me mildly by surprise, most of Hufflepuff was on pretty good terms with me, and if you never caused them harm they tended not to present offensive behavior. Ravenclaw students seemed to just gossip around with each other looking between Cedric and myself as we ate. Slytherin students on the other hand took a defensive strategic. Whenever Gryffindor started up they would start sending mild jinxes over to whoever was causing the ruckus then smirking in my direction. I simply nodded my head at them not knowing how to respond. I had to admit I was most thankful to be in Slytherin at times like these, you couldn't mess with one Slytherin without having another plot your death.

I was about to leave when the post came. I wasn't expecting anything until a package dropped right onto my plate empty of the food I had eaten. I looked up for the owl that dropped it and saw the Malfoys owl, Selena, flying away. I looked down at the package thinking it was for Draco and Selena had just mixed it up, and then saw it was addressed to me. I opened up the small package and found a lush green scarf and a letter.

" _Dear Rose,_

 _We would like to congratulate you on your placement as a TriWizard Champion. Ludo Bagman excitedly sent us a letter last night informing us of the news. I know for a fact that he had also been talking to Rita Skeeter, which means that she will most likely be trying for an interview with you kids. We sent you a scarf for you to gift her, you can go ahead and tell her that we sent it and asked you to give it to her. It never hurts to get on a reporters good side, and Rita Skeeter is a reporter whom you most certainly would want to get on the good side. Wish Draco our best for us, and good luck._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Narcissa Malfoy"_

"What's that," Draco looked over my shoulder at the letter.

"You parents send you their best," I mumbled finishing up the letter, "who's Rita Skeeter?"

"She's some reporter that my father is friends with, why?"

"Apparently I'm going to be interviewed by her or something," I wrapped the scarf back up.

"That's unfortunate," he finished drinking his cup of juice and stood up from the table along with me.

"Is she not a good reporter?"

"She's the one that wrote that paper on you in second year," Draco brought up. I groaned at the memory. In second year as events regarding the Chamber of Secrets came up, she wrote an article about my place in Slytherin and perhaps being influenced by such dark spells at such a young age might have marred my soul with black from the start.

"Don't worry, won't be as bad for you this time. Father has had a few chats with her over the years," he held his head up high in the way he did when he brought up privileges that came with being in a powerful wizarding family. Even though he tried to comfort, I still had a small bit of worried that I carried with my in my gut but pushed down due to my training.

I had more trouble clearing my head that night; perhaps it was do to the lack of physical exhaustion. The pain was a bit worse the next morning and I could distinctly remember feeling angry in my sleep through the night. I used a bit of my scar salve that morning before slipping on my uniform.

We had to take Blast-Ended Skrewts for a walk during Care of Magical Creatures which I was hesitant of but found enjoyable as mine was found to be a very docile one and I got to watch the rest of the class being blown about as the Skrewts blew up dragging their walkers. My favorite was watching Crabbe and Pansys try to blast in opposite directions which sent the two crashing so hard into each other that they both suffered nose bleeds. When we went to lunch however, I noticed that most of Slytherin had left early for some reason, I decided to pack my lunch and bring it to the courtyard where Harry and Hermione were sitting.

"I just can't do another hour and a half with Slytherins today," Harry groaned.

"Well how about just a few minutes for lunch," I asked smirking as he turned around with a grimace.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Hermione and I just giggled it off.

"Where's Ronald," I asked looking up in the trees to see if he was playing some sort of game. But brought my attention back to Harry when I heard him grumbling some sort of curse.

"Harry and Ron aren't speaking," Hermione informed me.

"Why is that," I asked him as he ripped grass from the ground and threw it across the way.

"Because he's a down right git, that's why."

"Harry!" Hermione slapped him over his head.

"Ron is a little hurt over the attention Harry is getting from all of this."

"Just tell him you didn't put your name in," I shrugged.

"I did! He doesn't believe me, no one believes me except Hermione and Hagrid," he was practically yelling at me, then he turned his full rage on me like he normally did when he was feeling abnormally victimized. "Even you didn't believe me. The first thing you did when we got through that door was blame me for this. I had nothing to do with this, and now the entire school hates me!" I looked over at Hermione as Harry threw himself backwards onto the grass like a child throwing a fit.

"Eat the sandwich," I held out the sandwich that I hadn't eaten to him. He snatched it out of my hands and bit into it angrily. I knew that he could get testy when he didn't eat for a long time.

"What did they want with you after I left," he still sounded irritated but I could tell he was feeling better after throwing his fit. I thought about what to say.

"I don't think I'm supposed to be telling people about it," I was honest with him. I never lied to Harry, if I didn't want to tell him something I just didn't.

"Does it involve the tournament," he asked perching himself up on his elbows taking another bite.

"No, it was more of a health thing," I saw Hermione's concern, "I'm totally fine though nothing serious." _I hoped_.

We finished up lunch and I left to go to the laboratory before heading to double potions. As I approached the classroom I noticed a huge crowd of Slytherins blocking Harry and Hermione from entering. I came up behind the group of Slytherin students and listened for a second.

"Like our new badges, Potter," Draco's voice carried through. "And that's not all they do, look!"

"What's going on here," I asked. Half of the students jumped at my voice and turned around all in unison. I raised an eyebrow and a rather nasty look at some badges they all had clipped to them. While everyone's had a picture of me smiling next to my brother angrily snarling with the caption 'Beauty and the Beast,' Draco's was showing an explicit drawing of my brother as a cartoon with large hairy testicles drawn onto him and a caption, 'Hairy Potter.' I couldn't respond at first, part of me being the sibling wanted to laugh, but the other part was severely angry that they would dare bully someone in such a way. I think Draco knew that he messed up when he saw the look on my face.

"Take them off," I calmly instructed them. Nobody moved. "Now," I demanded sharply. I could let some things slide, knowing that sometimes my brother did instigate them, but this was completely wrong. My death glare that was latched onto Draco was released when the dungeon door slammed open revealing the bat that lived in it.

"What is going on here," a cool voice called out. I turned back to Malfoy.

"Just a disagreement sir," I admitted. I could tell he didn't buy it but didn't press the issue.

"Get in," he articulated each word so that no one would dare question him. I started to walk past but he placed a cold hand on my shoulder, "not you." The last person closed the door shut and Snape pulled me down the hall so that any eavesdroppers couldn't hear.

"Was I not clear when I informed you that your emotions should be in check and under control at all times," he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes sir," I kept the eye contact with him, I knew he could tell I had a question. "To be honest sir, I don't entirely understand how not to feel things," I admitted. He crossed his arms and stared down at me before continuing.

"I am an expert occlumist and legilimist. Despite my behavior, do you believe that I do not feel emotion," he asked. I smirked up at him not being able to hide it. He pointed directly at my smirk as soon as it showed.

"Control the behavior and the thoughts will follow," he pointed back to the classroom signaling for me to join the class. I walked back in, every eye was on me but I took my seat next to Millicent. I pulled out my notebook to the place where I had found the recipe for the antidote that I was instructed to make. Snape came in a moment later and reached the front of the classroom.

"Antidotes, you should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then we will be selecting someone on whom to test one…" he looked up from his journal and locked eyes immediately with Harry. I felt like groaning but 'controled the behavior.' I knew that he was testing me by trying to elicit a response from me by torturing my brother. He was about to begin talking again when the chamber door creaked open.

"Sir?" Colin Creevey's smiling face seemed to light up the room.

"Yes?" Snape drawled.

"Harry and Rose Potter need to report upstairs," Colin's sweet smile suddenly faded when he realized he was talking to Snape.

"They are in class for another hour and a half, they are dismiss then," he turned his back to write on the chalkboard.

"But… Sir," Collin stopped when Snape turned his cold face to him again, "Mr. Bagman sent me for them now." Snape let out a breath of hot air then nodded in acceptance. Harry and I packed our bags back up then left the room.

"What is this for Colin," Harry asked, I could tell he felt good by the spring in his step.

"Your wands have to be checked out to make sure they are fit for the tournament, and some lady is here to interview you." Colin was slowly recovering from his run in with Snape. _Interview? It must be Rita Skeeter._

"Hold on, I'm just going to throw my bags on my bed real quick," I said to Colin and Harry. They nodded and waited as ran down the hall to the Slytherin dungeon, which was luckily right next to Snapes office and classroom. I threw open my trunk and found the scarf that I had wrapped in a green gift bag that Tracey agreed to loan me. I came out quickly with the bag in hand and my wand in my pocket.

"What's that," Harry asked about he bag.

"The Malfoy's asked me to give it to Mrs. Skeeter," I told him honestly.

"After all that you're going to still do their bidding," he accused right in front of Colin.

"Harry, was it the Malfoys who made those god-awful pins, no, it probably wasn't even Draco, so back off," I calmly stated still trying to control myself. He went back to his temper tantrum from before. The entire way up he was trying to dig up every awful event that had taken place between Draco and him over the past few years, I just focused on getting to wherever Colin was taking us.

"Good luck," Colin awkwardly exclaimed when we reached the door. Harry was still glaring at me like I had just stabbed his kitten.

"Look, just pretend you like me, for the interview at least," I begged before we both entered the room. Ludo Bagman, Krum, and Fleur were all standing in the room, along with a woman dressed entirely in green with bright magenta lips. I presumed this woman was Rita Skeeter by the way she was already scribbling down notes as soon as her greedy eyes trapped us. I smiled the way I had seen Mrs. Malfoy do when she walked into a room full of people.

"Ah, there are our last two champions," Ludo Bagman ran over right into the middle of the two of us and wrapped his hands around each of our shoulders. "Could you get a picture for me Rita," he asked. She smiled slyly.

"Of course Ludo," I felt uncomfortable underneath Ludo's grasp but smiled anyway as the blinding light of the camera went off. "Mind if I get one of just the twins Ludo?"

"Be my guest," Ludo stepped out of the way so that Harry and I were standing there next to each other. He was still angry with me I could tell, so I initiated the pose by scooting closer to him and putting my arm next to him on his back. I felt him try to shrug me off but I pinched him through his robe.

"Ouch," he snapped and caught on that I wasn't going to let him act like this and he put his arm on my waist begrudgingly. The instant the camera snapped he removed his hand and stormed over to a seat that he plopped down in.

Ludo looked at his watch and seemed to jump from excitement.

"The wand weighing ceremony should begin any moment now, the rest of the judges should be here in only a few short minutes." He clasped his hands together enthusiastically and gave us all a shark tooth smile. "There is also going to be a short little photo shoot. Rita Skeeter here will be doing a little report for the Daily Prophet about the tournament." I saw her make a snarky shrug before butting in.

"Well, maybe not that little," she stared at Harry and I hungrily. "Maybe I could steal each of the champions for a little interview?"

"Certainly, what a marvelous idea," Bagman seemed like he was more excited than Artemis was when I pulled out catnip.

"Ladies first then," Mrs. Skeeter shook her shoulders and walked toward a door within the room, and wiggled her finger for me to follow. I took a deep breath and complied.

"Let's see… ah, this will do," she smiled at me and used her wand to flip over two large, empty buckets for us to sit on. She held out her hand for me to sit down first so I did so. She sat down across from me and started to dig through her bag.

"How are you today Mrs. Skeeter," I asked trying to hold the poise and etiquette that pureblood families did.

"Oh… I am just terrific," she smiled at me waving her hand for a brief second before digging around in her purse again.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy send their best, and asked me to give this to you for them," I smiled the sweetest smile I could muster and held out the green bag for her. She looked up greedily.

"How sweet," she took a break to accept the gift and pulled out the scarf with enthusiasm. "Green, my favorite color, as is yours I presume," she asked with a glint in her eye as she looked at my Slytherin crest.

"What else would it be," I agreed.

"Well then," she found what she was looking for within her purse. A long green feather whipped out with a notebook and floated behind her, "shall we get started?"

"So, how do you feel about being sucked into this potentially harmful situation," she asked me as her quill scribbled down notes whipping its tail dramatically.

"Well, I'm not particularly thrilled about having to be put in these situations, but I'm honored that I was given an opportunity that very few wizards get to experience," I lied through my teeth, I hated every aspect of this damn tournament.

"Right, and what are you doing to help yourself prepare for the tasks," she asked. I honestly hadn't thought to prepare yet at all.

"I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm involved with this to be honest. Right now I guess I'm just trying to stay calm and focus on my school work, I don't want it to interfere with my education," I was just trying to be as honest as I could at this point, knowing that she could probably tell when I was lying.

"How wonderful," she looked at me with a smirk that I wasn't to fond of. I had seen that look on my classmates several times, she had something wicked planned. I smiled on and prayed that the Malfoys had in deed swayed her from writing anything terrible of me again.

"Tell me Rosey," she used a puppy name for me that I had never really liked, I dreaded what she was going to say next, "do you remember your parents?" I felt my face waver but only for a second, I had been caught off guard by the question.

"No," I admitted. The quill was writing more furiously than before.

"If they were here today, what do you think they would say to whomever entered you in this deathly tournament," she was still smirking.

"I don't know what they would have said to the person, but I believe they would be as concerned as any other parent might be," I shrugged my shoulder and tried to come up with the most neutral response I could.

"And how do you feel being placed in a contest against your own twin brother, are you worried about how your relationship will hold up through this?" I was thrown back in my mind to just the few moments ago when I had to beg Harry to pretend to not hate me for a few moments but forced through.

"My brother and I have always had a very close bond, and I believe that we will be able to encourage each other to do our best while still understanding that we are in competition with each other." There was a twinkle in her eye as she smirked.

"Well, this has just been lovely," she grinned wickedly at me then held out her hand to me. I took it and left the closet quickly.

"Harry, why not you next," she called from the closet. I purposely walked past him as he approached even though he was glaring at me.

"Watch what you say," I said under my breath, and just a few seconds later he was wrapped into her wicked web.

"I went and stood near where the other three champions were standing awaiting their call from the green monster.

"You are friends with Hermy-o-ny, yes?" I heard a think rough voice with a thick accenst ask from behind me. I turned and saw Victor standing there with his head tilted to the side like a dog.

"She's my brother's friend," I answered. He nodded.

"Do you know vat it is she like to do," I could hear him struggle through the sentence but was able to pick up what he asked.

"She's in the library a lot, she likes to read," I answered. He smiled like he had just actually one the TriWizard Cup and bowed to me in a respectful manner. I turned back around and tried to think of every reason why Victor Krum would be asking about Hermione Granger, but came to no conclusion.

After about five minutes, Dumbledore came into the room followed by Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, and Mr. Crouch.

"Where's Harry," Dumbledore asked after looking around the room.

"Ah! Dumbledore! Harry is just finishing up a report in the closet with Mrs. Skeeter," Mr. Bagman seemed almost drunk with his joy. Dumbledore seemed displeased as he immediately threw open the closet door and pulled Harry out. There were some words exchanged between Dumbledore and Mrs. Skeeter that I could tell had a bitter edge to it, but couldn't hear. Harry looked even angrier than he had before going in. I had a feeling that he didn't listen to me.

"Please take a seat," Dumbledore offered his hand out to five chairs that were meant for the five champions. I took a seat on the end. Harry begrudgingly sat between myself and Cedric. The door opened again and Dumbledore offered his hand out to whoever was entering. "May I introduce to you all, Mr. Ollivander, he will be checking your wands to make sure that they are in good condition before the tournament begins." Ollivander came into the center of the room as Dumbledore took a seat at the judges' table.

"Let's start with Mademoiselle Delacour shall we," Mr. Ollivander held out his hands as Fleur gracefully glided across the room and handed him her wand. He went through every person's wand informing the judges of what the core, make, and length was for each before testing the wands out. Each proved satisfactory to him. He called up Harry just before myself. He said nothing about the core but informed the judges of the length and wood that was used for his. He tested Harry's out by shooting out a fountain of wine from the tip. "Perfect," he nodded then acknowledged for me to come up.

I stood up and kept my posture as I walked toward him and placed my wand in his hands. He held it up to his eye level and examined to see the straightness of it.

"This was a fine Yew tree that gave its wood," Ollivander looked at the wand in his hands. I had always been fond of my wand, I felt that it had always been just an extension of my body and was just as fond of it as I was my cat in an odd way. "Ten inches a little on the stiffer side, but not entirely rigid," he inspected the wand further. "Another one of my favorites," he looked at it as if he were reminiscing. I remembered going into his store with Harry when we were just young, wide-eyed, new comers to the wonderful world we were brought into.

 _Hagrid had left us both to go run an errand and sent us into the shop by ourselves. I remember going through a few disastrous wands that made me question how on earth we would ever be able to control our magic. "I wonder" I heard him mumble from his storage room, he brought out three boxes and placed them on his counter. He shut the blinds of his shop and locked the door. I looked at Harry with question. He opened the lids of all three of the wands and looked at them before shutting one. He seemed very serious and suspicious as he handed us each a wand. The store, which had been ransacked and charred in certain places, returned to normal and left us with a scent of fresh vanilla and some other floral scent. I shook as a chill racked up my spine._

" _Curious," Mr. Ollivander stared at the two of us with mild shock and an odd look that made me feel uncomfortable, "very curious." I looked back at the dark brown polished wand that I had been given. It was sleek and smooth, only a little smaller than Harry's but I thought mine had a beautiful artistic sense to it that his did not. The bottom of the wand was formed into a rose and had vines that grew up the shaft of it and blended in until about halfway up. It was made for me._

" _Sorry, but what's curious," Harry asked. I could tell Mr. Ollivander was thinking about how to talk to us but finally took both of our wands from us to hold._

" _I remember every wand I've ever sold," he began, "it so happens that the phoenix, whose tail feathers resides in both of your wands gave two other feathers. Just two others." He stopped as he picked up the third box that we had not viewed. "One lies in this wand, and the other with another which already has had an owner." He opened the box and showed us a wand that was pure white with some sort of Latin wording engraved on it. He shut the lid quickly and placed it back on the shelf before returning to us. "It's curious that you two should be destined for these wands, when their brother gave you that scar," he acknowledged Harry's scar that was peeking through his messy bangs. I remember at the time being afraid that he meant in some way that Voldemort and my brother and I were related in some way. "We can expect great things from you, after all he-who-must-not-be-named did do great things. Terrible! But great things."_

He held out my wand and tried to send out a spell to send out a small firework, but all that came out was a mild spark. He laughed and handed the wand back to me.

"She's quite attuned to you, I doubt she will fail you," he smiled widely at me. I had noticed that whenever others tried to use my wand that they would have some difficulty handling it. I specifically remember one time that we had been having a snowball fight in our second year, my wand had fallen out of my pocket and Pansy had picked it up having lost her own. When she tried to use it to cast a heap of snow at me the mound of it only flew ferociously at her burying her to the point that when she came out she had to go inside and change her clothes. She contracted a cold the next day. I always assumed that it was just their inability to use a wand different from theirs but I supposed that it made sense that a wand would also configure to their owner.

We were forced to take a few more photos with the rest of the champions and judges. Somehow Rita Skeeter kept insisting that Harry and I be front and center for nearly every photograph. I smiled as civilly as I could and was more than thankful when Dumbledore called an end to the photographs to ensure that the students would have enough time for supper. I started to leave with Harry, but he hastily fled before I could catch up with him. I took a deep breath and fought the urge to yell out his name. I thought back to what Rita Skeeter had said about the tournament coming between Harry and I and had a thought that perhaps she did understand the right places to go digging around.

* * *

A/N: For my fellow Americans, black pudding is a type of sausage that they eat for breakfast in the UK. I only learned that from Buzzfeed though so that could definitely be inaccurate haha I think its made from pigs blood and oatmeal or something like that. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, if you have any critiques or questions feel free to message me or place a review on with your comment.


End file.
